This Forum explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Higher Education (HE) sector through the experiences and perspectives in China, Malaysia and the UK, with schools and universities closed and teaching moved online with very short notice. Authors were given an open brief as to the nature of their contribution, reflecting the still evolving 'pandemic pedagogy' phenomenon. Reflecting different national contexts reified in the emergency response to education disruption, the three perspectives in this Forum individually and collectively shed light on the implications of contrasting states of university governance and overall HE development.