Teachers:Open University of the Netherlands, School of Science

Open University of the Netherlands, School of Science (OUNL)
The Open Universiteit Nederland welcomed its first students in 1984. It is an independent government-funded institute for distance learning at university level. The OUNL offers people who never had the opportunity to attend higher education a second chance. The university's aim is to make higher education accessible to anyone with the necessary aptitude and interest, regardless of formal qualifications. Many take advantage of this opportunity. Furthermore, studying at the OUNL allows professionals to sharpen their skills. In fact, many of its students already have degrees and take one or more courses to acquire additional know-how or to retrain for a different occupation. Approximately 21,000 students are currently enrolled at OUNL, following one of the university's courses or fully accredited Bachelor or Master degree programmes. About 70% of these students remain in paid employment throughout their studies, and more than 50% have enrolled because it leaves them free to choose their own time and place of study and lets them progress at their own pace.

The School of Science at the Open Universiteit Nederland offers a Bachelor of Science programme on Environmental Sciences, with the opportunity for students to majoring in Natural Sciences of the Environment, Environmental Policy, or Environmental Health Sciences. After the Bachelor programme students can enter the Master of Science programme on Environmental Sciences. In both the Bachelor and Master programme, students not only learn about sustainable development, but are also enabled to learn for sustainable development through courses in which relevant core competencies are developed. Examples are the European Virtual Seminar on Sustainable Development, promoting an international dialogue between students with different cultural and disciplinary backgrounds, and the Virtual Environmental Consultancy, in which students work in different roles in a virtual company dealing with real life environmental problems for external clients. The academic staff of the School of Science participates in a wide range of national and international projects and programmes on sustainable development.

The School of Sciences of the Open Universiteit Nederland is the project coordinator of the |European Virtual Seminar on Sustainable Development.

E-learning and sustainable development know-how:

 * Educational Technology Expertise Centre (OTEC) – TENCompetence Project (2006-2010)
 * European Virtual Seminar on Sustainable Development (EVS)
 * VCC-Virtual Copernicus Campus - eLearning 2004
 * Alfa – Project “Programa de Maestría Internacional en Desarrollo y Gestión Sustentable“ (International Master “Sustainable Development and Management”) of the network ELaN (European-Latinamerican Network for Sustainable Development)
 * |The Regional Centre of Expertise (RCE) on Education for Sustainable Development Rhine-Meuse was founded in August 2005 by the Open Universiteit Nederland and Zuyd University of applied science in collaboration with other knowledge institutions, NGOs, companies and local authorities in the Euregio Maas-Rhine.

Main contribution to the VCSE Network:
VCSE-partner and Coordinator of VCSE Working Group 3 (WP 3): Dissemination of VC-model to other universities

Links

 * http://www.ou.nl