VCSE Guidebook/Introduction/Why e-learning for sustainable development in the first place?

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Problems of sustainable development are typically complex and perspectives on the nature and solution of these problems are likely to vary with national, cultural and disciplinary backgrounds. Trans-boundary competence, the ability to communicate and collaborate across the boundaries of a nation, culture and discipline, is therefore an essential competence for sustainable development. Thus, virtual collaborative learning is an excellent learning environment to develop such trans-boundary abilities, as the participants experience differences in perspective in a very direct way and have to come to a joint solution of the problem.

A number of first attempts in setting up e-learning seminars or virtual campuses on sustainable development issues have been reported at the European level. We would like to mention the following:

  • “Virtual Copernicus Campus” (VCC) - eLearning 2004 Project, was the first attempt of the VCSE partners to build up a virtual campus on sustainability at a European level. In the current “Virtual Campus for a Sustainable Europe” (VCSE) – eLearning 2006 Project, they have proceeded one step further by sharing their acquired know-how and expertise not only with other academic institutes, but with local stakeholders and decision-makers as well.
  • Virtual Seminar on Sustainable Development (EVS), Open University of the Netherlands (since 2001) : The aim of the EVS is to foster an international, multidisciplinary dialogue on sustainable development among students from all over Europe by using modern ICT and the internet.
  • wSUPPREM: a Virtual Campus about Sustainable Development and Environmental Management has been developed at the CUEH (Interfaculty Centre of the University of Geneva) during the last 5 years. At the European level, SUPPREM is part of the campus e-LERU developed by the |League of European Research Universities (LERU) to set up a common virtual campus enabling each partner university to offer its students high quality virtual mobility as a complement to physical mobility.
  • |PASDEL (PrActising Sustainable Development through E-Learning) – Leonardo Da Vinci Project (2005-2008) brings together 10 partners from 7 European countries to build e-courses in four European languages (Czech, French, Polish and Romanian) and is supported by local authorities, national ministries and private companies.