Global Virtual University

The Global Virtual University (GVU) is a consortium of universities that work together under the auspices of the United Nations University (UNU) to enhance learning for environmental sustainability. It was launched in September 2002 at the World Summit on Sustainable Development as a four-year pilot project, funded by the Government of Norway, to develop innovative approaches to online learning in order to promote education for sustainable development and officially opened in Arendal, Norway in June 2003

Through a range of online study programmes and courses offered by partner universities, the mission of GVU is to increase people's sensitivity to and involvement in finding solutions for environment and development issues.

The web site is at http://www.gvu.unu.edu.

e-learning

The web site notes:

Online learning (e-learning) forms the basic educational method for all our study programmes and courses. This implies that a substantial part of teaching, collaboration, and supervision take place on the Internet. The pedagogy has a social constructivist approach, which means that group work, online discussions and joint assignments are important. It further implies that an active and regular participation among the students is essential. Students meet their classmates in virtual classrooms, in some cases supported by a face to face session in the beginning of the course.

Partners

These are 14 in number:

1. Agder University, Norway
2. Environic Foundation International
3. Institut Supérieur de Dévelopement Rural des Grands Lacs
4. Kenyatta University, Kenya
5. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana
6. Makerere University, Uganda
7. Mekelle University, Ethiopia
8. Mogadishu University, Somalia
9. Mzumbe University, Tanzania
10. Norwegian Institute of Gene Ecology, Norway
11. Suez Canal University, Egypt
12. University of Pretoria, South Africa
13. University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka
14. University of Zimbabwe

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