Alliance with Australia's Deakin University to share e-learning experience

Having shared their respective experiences in the field, both institutions will work together to innovate in information technologies for higher education and lifelong learning.

The Vice-Chancellor of Deakin University, Professor Jane den Hollander, said that the agreement would help strengthen Deakin’s Strategic Plan, LIVE the Future, which aims to drive the digital frontier and provide students with an unbridled custom education.

“Deakin aims to be Australia’s premier university in driving the digital frontier to equip students with the skills required for the jobs of the future and we are delighted to be collaborating with one of the world’s leading online universities as we develop our digital programs further,” she said.

“Through shared expertise and co-operation we expect to be able to achieve the goals outlined in our strategic plan faster than we would have been able to by working alone,” she said.

In turn, the UOC’s Vice President for Technology, Llorenç Valverde, stressed that “this collaboration forms part of the UOC’s internationalization strategy, based on cooperation with institutions around the world to build a network of universities offering top quality higher education e-learning and applying the UOC’s student accompaniment system. It highlights the UOC’s international prestige, both in terms of the methodology and the technology used.”

Valverde signed the agreement with Deakin University during his participation in the Deakin Teaching and Learning Conference, where he presented the UOC’s Virtual Campus and took part in a debate on Digital Futures and Australian Higher Education: Opportunities and Impacts.

Under the agreement, a project team of information and learning technology specialists from both universities will be formed to work together over the next year.