The Institute for Research in Open and Innovative Education (IROPINE) organized the 2021 International Conference on Open and Innovative Education (ICOIE 2021) from 5 to 7 July to engage relevant educators and researchers in academic exchanges. ICOIE is a signature event of the University, which has been held annually since 2014, exploring and discussing the advances and developments in open and innovative education. This year, the conference featured five keynote sessions and one forum delivered by prominent scholars. In addition, new networking sessions on the themes of educational technology and pedagogical innovations were held. About 90 papers by scholars from more than 20 countries or regions were accepted, after stringent reviews, for presentation in the conference.