Dr. Don Olcott, Jr. is Chief Executive of The Observatory of Borderless Higher Education (OBHE). Dr. Olcott leads The Observatory and on a variety of international research and partnership projects with numerous worldwide organisations.

Dr. Olcott serves on the UK’s Council of Validating Universities (CVU), the Board of Directors of the University of London’s Distance Education Council, and the Board of the Open University.  He is also an elected Fellow of the UK’s Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA). Don is immediate past-president of the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) and currently serves as Chairman of the USDLA Board of Directors.

Dr. Olcott previously held senior leadership and faculty appointments with a variety of institutions across the USA. He has over twenty-five years of public and private sector experience in the design, delivery, and evaluation of higher education continuing and distance education programs. He is a member of the editorial boards for a range of journals and is published extensively. He received his bachelors and masters' degrees from Western Washington University and his doctorate in higher education leadership from Oregon State University.

Dr Olcott participated in session 3c - Regional trading blocs: competing for students and knowledge in a new era of globalisation.