The United Nations University Vice Rectorate in Europe — in collaboration with UNU Vice-Rector Govindan Parayil, who is in charge of e-learning at the UNU Headquarters, and the UNU Media Studio — hosted a strategic workshop on 26 and 27 November 2008 at the UN Campus in Bonn.

This two-day workshop explored the role of e-learning at the UNU, how to respond to the need for the UNU to focus more on the African region, and how to build a consolidated approach to e-learning for capacity development.

The workshop was an opportunity for participants to conceptualize a common vision for e-learning that could lead to the pooling of resources, capacity, and expertise to better address today’s development challenges. The 33 participants (UNU system academic staff and external stake-holders, including educational experts from Africa) discussed the role of e-learning in better fulfilling the strategic goals of the UNU, and explored ways to strengthen the development, implementation, and quality of capacity development methodologies using e-learning and information and communications technologies.

Group work at the UNU e-learning workshop. Photo: Tony Carr.

An initial vision for maximizing the availability and quality of e-learning was developed, and participants shared their current work to surface organizational strengths and gaps. African colleagues contributed to the discussion and provided valuable insights to test the UNU’s assumptions and match its strengths to the needs of its stake-holders.

Three key messages emerged from this meeting:

• There is a need to broaden our definition of e-learning. This results from the realization that changing technologies, and the processes used with technologies, can be a catalyst for deeper learning, as well as for a higher quality of and increased access to learning. This can also improve internal and external communication and collaboration.
• E-learning is not simply a UNU project or stream, but a tool for advancing research and teaching in service of the UN goals. We should examine how it can support our work in all we do and apply it thoughtfully and well. This means building our own understanding of and capacity to apply e-learning.
• UNU has planted seeds of innovation in the recent past with successful e-learning projects. Now we need to share the fruits of those seeds by looking at scaling them across the UNU while continuing to nurture innovation and development of ideas that respond to local contexts.

For more information, including documents, presentations, and posters, see the “Capacity Development through E-learning:Workshop Report” website.