Rapid technological development has altered the obligation of educational systems to prepare learners to become competent in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In contrast to the previous Industrial Revolutions, the Fourth Revolution is characterized by the emergence of ‘intelligent’ technologies that contributes to creating immeasurable changes to various aspects of society.As a result, the prospects of job markets and economic status have vastly transformed which brought the need for modifications in education.In order to keep up with the inevitable changes of society, it is necessary to define tools and skills need to prepare individuals for this era. The work forms the base for ‘education curricula’ and by building proper curricula, it is possible to develop necessary tools and skills. The construction of an educational curriculum that ensures “quality and relevance to context”is one of the indicative strategies of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal no. 4 which aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”.With the objective of achieving this, the Education 2030 Incheon declaration calls to the importance of “ flexible skills and competencies [people] need to live and work in a more secure, sustainable, interdependent, knowledge-based and technology-driven world”.In addition, according to the UNESCO’s International Bureau of Education, defining a learner’s competencies is important in formulating a curriculum that is “learner-centered and adaptive to the changing needs of students, teachers, and society.”

In accordance to this, the international goal of educational innovation has now shifted its paradigm from implementing the “3Rs” (Reading, Writing, Arithmetic), which governed the educational curricula for decades, to a new set of “Soft Skills.” Soft Skills are defined by UNESCO as being“intangible personal qualities, habits, traits, attributes, and attitudes that can be broadly applied in different types of jobs,”such as computational thinking, creativity, social skills, decision making and more.However, due to the recency of this shift, many countries are still only at the early stages of applying soft skills to educational policies, curricula, and teaching-learning practices.

With the above in consideration, it is essential to have a platform where ideas and experiences can be shared to advance the educational systems. Hence, Korea Education Research and Information Service (KERIS) and Stockholm University, two leading organizations that facilitate education innovation with ICT in Education, are hosting “2018 Stockholm Forum,” held under the theme, “Fourth Industrial Revolution and Competencies in the 21st Century.”This Forum will aid in understanding how to facilitate learners to grow 21st century skills by gathering each countries’ ideas, and sharing visions and experiences.