The AVICENNA Pilot Project:
A Virtual Campus for the Knowledge Society

About the Avicenna Virtual Campus (AVC) Project

Coordinated by UNESCO and supported by the European Commission through its EUMedIS Initiative, this pilot project is "embedded in a double problematic in contributing to peace and in reducing the digital divide in Higher Education (HE) along the Mediterranean basin" (Avicenna Charta). In line with the Government's vision of contributing to peace in the Mediterranean by promoting cultural dialogue, the Malta Council for Science and Technology had proposed to UNESCO to develop a regional project for online learning. The UN agency took up the idea and a network of Universities / HE institutions coming from 15 Euro-Med countries was created. National Open and Distance Learning nodes, or Avicenna Knowledge Centres (AKCs), have been set up in all participating countries and a virtual library containing 120 online modules is being developed.

AKC-Malta, housed at the FTZ premises in Villa Bighi, Kalkara, will be offering virtual mobility options to students, as well as opportunities for lifelong learning to all. The project is particularly relevant for today's knowledge-based economy, where knowledge has truly become the key differentiator for competitive advantage. The current rapid development of ICTs and their applications enables stronger collaboration between regional research centres and universities, facilitating the production of courseware to fit specific educational needs and providing access to a wealth of resources available through the Internet. Most importantly, it promotes the creation of cross-cultural partnerships to achieve common aims.

Related Links

AVC and Unesco sites
EUMedIS
Eumedis Malta Contact Point
Avicenna Charta
AKCs
Pleiad platform
Avicenna Virtual Library
Avicenna Quality Criteria

Background

In the year 2000, the Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST) joined the network of Euro-Mediterranean HE institutions built by UNESCO to design a pilot project aimed at kickstarting eLearning initiatives tailored for the needs of the region. The result was the Avicenna Virtual Campus project proposal, submitted by the consortium to the European Commission (EC) for funding through the EUMedIS programme, in January 2001.

Description
The project consists in the setting up of a network of 15 national Open and Distance Learning (ODL) nodes, the Avicenna Knowledge Centres (AKCs), which will eventually lead to the creation of a Mediterranean community of learners. The Centres will be producing, adapting and translating online multi-lingual and multi-cultural course-modules (Knowledge Units), to be shared via the network's knowledge database, the Avicenna Virtual Library.

Development
Having selected the AVC project, the EC will be awarding the consortium substantial funds for its implementation. In March 2003, Avicenna was launched at the UNESCO headquarters, in Paris. In acknowledgement of the pioneering role played by the Maltese partner to devise the project, UNESCO, the coordinator, invited the Director of the Malta AKC to chair the kick-off meeting.

Consortium
The consortium (link- take slide from Miloudi/my presentation to EuroAccess) is composed of UNESCO, the 15 entities responsible for the running of the respective AKCs, and two important French institutions, CNED and CNAM. AKCs have been set up in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Cyprus, Italy, France, Spain and the UK, besides Malta. The network will have a common set of pedagogical and technical standards and an adequate, homogeneous technical infrastructure.

Objectives
To accelerate the adoption and best use of ICT-assisted ODL, the Avicenna project intends to focus on specific objectives to create:
==> a dynamic network of 15 regional AKCs;
==> an educational virtual library containing a minimum of 120 multimedia modules;
==> a common set of standards and methodologies, providing a model framework for ODL in the Mediterranean context;
==> experts trained in distance education; and
==> a support base for pedagogical innovation and the ongoing development of Mediterranean educational institutions.

The AKCs will assist both the producers and the users - students and tutors - of the online modules. They will provide access to the facilities and resources developed through the project, such as group-ware and the Virtual Library, and build up relationships both within and outside the Avicenna network.

Target audience
Apart from the University students, lecturers, teachers and tutors, who will be trained in the use of e-learning methodologies, the project will target workers and adult learners who may be unable to attend full-time courses. Social objectives, including specific needs of marginalized populations and disadvantaged groups, will also be addressed.