The project E-Learning for Integrated Watershed Management, funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), aims at introducing e-learning into the teaching and learning practices of East African universities in the area of watershead management education. The project, which will run from 2008 to 2010, will contribute to the European Union project on Capacity Building for Integrated Watershed Management in Eastern Africa (IWMNET).

The e-learning project, initiated by an interdisciplinary team of experts in the areas of e-learning and integrated watershed management, is being implemented by the United Nations University Vice Rectorate in Europe (UNU-ViE) in collaboration with the University of Duisburg-Essen and Siegen University. The UNU will provide expertise in the educational methodology of e-learning, and help to design and moderate a series of workshops. University partners in East Africa are Makarere University (Uganda), University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia) and Kenyatta University (Kenya).

The use of new technology for providing access to education and enriching existing educational opportunities is increasingly coming into focus. The effective adoption of information and communications technologies for Education and Sustainable Development in higher education, however, requires more than the integration of technology into the teaching process. International experience has shown that a sustainable anchoring of e-learning can be achieved only through the development of a coherent e-learning culture and strategy.

The project thus seeks to strengthen capacity at both the institutional and individual levels by facilitating the take up of e-learning as a cultural and organizational innovation. At the individual level, the project aims to build a team of e-competent key university educators who can act as “multipliers” in their own context as well as collaborate with colleagues from other East African universities.

A participative approach is at the heart of E-Learning for Integrated Watershed Management project. During the course of the project, African and international experts will take part in six workshops to build a common knowledge base, set up regional networks, and develop tailor-made e-learning solutions in their respective universities. By ensuring the participants’ full engagement at each stage of the project, the organizers hope to build a community of East African experts in the field of integrated watershed management and to foster innovative transboundary cooperation.