Prepared by: Manuel Zaragoza
ITU, BDT/HRD
zaragoza@itu.int

The early years

The Office for the Development of Telecommunications (BDT) of ITU started using distance-learning technologies as early as the end of the eighties. The Teleproject was born at the beginning of the nineties. At that time, the project was the focal point for using computer technology as well as communication networks in training courses in the field of telecommunications for the developing countries. Using a telephone line and a modem the Teleproject assisted face-to-face training sessions in the field from ITU headquarters in Geneva.

It is important to highlight here that the barriers the Teleproject had to face were not technological, although technology was very primitive at the time if we compare it with what is available today. Perhaps the most difficult task was to convince all parties of the utility of these distance-assistance experiments. For example, getting authorisation to make a direct telephone line bypassing the PABX available, was a hard task. Proper operation and coordination at both ends of the connexion was also difficult because of lack of experience.

However, the positive experience of the Teleproject as well as the arrival of Internet led to the establishment of the ITU Virtual Training Centre in 1995. This is now the platform for all e-learning activities at the BDT. Almost at the same time the concept of the Global Telecommunication University and the Global Telecommunication Training Institute (GTU/GTTI) was launched at the Buenos Aires World Telecommunication Development Conference at the end of 1994. This project is the focal point for e-learning activities. It organises e-learning courses using the VTC platform and assists other projects in organising e-learning activities.

Today ITU is deeply involved in e-learning activities. Right now, for example, ITU is organising the Ist World Symposium on Tele-Education, which will take place in Manaus, Brasil, during the last week of June 2000,

Global Telecommunication University and Training Institute (GTU/GTTI)

Refining the concept of GTU/GTTI and analysing its feasibility took some time. In 1996, a team of experts carried out a feasibility study. The recommendations of this study have been guiding the activities and the evolution of the GTU/GTTI since then. The main conclusion of this study was that the GTU/GTTI could become a self-financed institution by charging very reasonable tuition fees. It was also recommended that the GTU/GTTI should establish partnerships with sponsors (financial partners) and course content providers (telecommunication training centres, technical universities, etc.). The long-term objective was to evolve toward a cost recovery and demand driven institution governed by a Board of Partners (Sponsors).

At present the courses are offered free of charge and the project is looking for partners to sponsor these activities. Following the recommendations of the feasibility study, in the future, the GTU/GTTI will be funded by contributions of the sponsors as well as by charging reasonable tuition fees. The future structure of the GTU/GTTI is shown in figure 1.

The feasibility study also recommended to use the VTC as a platform and to initiate a Pilot Phase of the GTU/GTTI in order to test all the assumptions made by the team of experts. The VTC has been an essential instrument for the success of this Pilot Phase.

The target population of the GTU/GTTI are decision makers of the telecom sector, who can introduce changes to speed up the development of the sector in their countries. This includes top managers as well as senior professionals from telecom entities such as operators, regulators, policy makers, training and research centres, etc.

Platform and methodology of the ITU Virtual Training Centre

The VTC uses a simple web conference system to deliver the distance learning courses. The platform is very intuitive and no special skills in computers or in Internet are required. A typical screen of a course is shown in figure 2. The only requirement on the participant's side is a computer with access to Internet and a browser (typically Netscape or Explorer).

The methodology of the VTC for e-learning is also very simple. The courses last for about eight weeks. Each week the participants work on a different module. They receive the corresponding training material weekly. The tutor distributes tasks, coaches and is their mentor. The course administrator controls the level of activity of each participant. At the end of the course a certificate of participation is issued for those participants whose level of activity during the course was satisfactory.

All activities and communications are carried out through the Internet and the web. The participants, the tutor and the administrator remain at their place of work. Attending a distance-learning course is a part time activity and is very convenient for managers because they can follow the course and, simultaneously, attend to any most urgent matters. However, the VTC methodology recognises the importance of traditional face-to-face seminars. Whenever possible the distance learning session is followed at the end by a short (2-3 day) face-to-face seminar.

Activities and future plans

During the Pilot Phase, the GTU/GTTI has been offering short distance-learning courses (continuous education programme) through the VTC. During this period of time, other projects like the Centres of Excellence (CoE) have also organised distance-learning courses as a complement to their face-to-face courses and seminars. A sample of distance-learning courses is in Table 1. The course material can be in English, French and/or Spanish however not all the courses are available in the three languages.

The first accredited academic education course to be offered by the GTU/GTTI will be a Master's on Communication Management. It is being prepared by Cable & Wireless. This 40 week programme is a mix of face-to-face and distance learning methods. The English edition will start in January 2001. It will be followed by the Spanish edition (2002) and the French edition (2003).

Table 1
Sample of distance learning courses and their status

Following the recommendations of the feasibility study, the GTU/GTTI is actively establishing links and contacts with potential partners (sponsors and course content providers) in order to enhance the programme of courses and to consolidate the achievements of the past. This will be the base of the future GTU/GTTI organisation as a partnership venture.

The need to develop an e-learning culture

The Pilot Phase has been a very useful exercise. Many courses have been developed and delivered. A practical methodology has also been developed and implemented. The Pilot Phase also showed that the success of a distance-learning course can be highly influenced by factors like linguistic barriers, infrastructure limitations (limited access to Internet) and previous exposure to e-learning methods.

In particular, the third factor mentioned, i.e. the previous exposure to e-learning methods, has a great influence on the interest (number of applications to participate) in new distance learning activities. The more distance learning activities carried out, the more applications are received for a new activity of this type.

The previous exposure to e-learning methods is also related to the participants' active involvement during the course. The more distance-learning activities carried out, the higher the level of active involvement of the participants.

It can be concluded that distance learning activities develop a kind of "e-learning culture". This e-learning culture contributes to the interest and to the success (level of participation) of new distance activities.

This conclusion is nothing new. E-learning is opening the door to new learning paradigms and new methods of knowledge transfer. It is a new culture that we all have to learn. Therefore, the typical learning curve applies here. This curve is a lying "S" as shown in figure 3. We are now at the beginning of this curve. In practical terms, the e-learning culture means that the participants and their organisations are fully convinced of the efficiency of distance learning methods as they are convinced today of the efficiency of face-to-face learning activities.

It was said, in recent years, that distance-learning activities using Internet could not take place in Africa due of the lack of infrastructure. Whilst it is true that, generally speaking, in African countries the lack of access (or very limited access) to Internet has always been a real barrier to organise activities through the net, this situation is now changing. The efforts of the African countries as well as local, regional and international initiatives are making Internet accessible everywhere in the region. Cyber-cafés can now be found in most big cities in Africa. In this sense, the telecom sector is (or should be) a privileged sector.

The consequence of this lack of infrastructure in the past has been a limited exposure to distance learning methods. The e-learning methods are not yet considered an alternative (or a complement) to the face-to-face courses in the development of human resources. Now that the Internet infrastructure is developing at a fast pace in Africa, the development of an e-learning culture is urgently needed.

Raising awareness on the potential of Internet as a learning tool

The best way to develop the e-learning culture is to show the great potential of Internet as a distance-learning tool. Taking this as the starting point, a GTU/GTTI promotional strategy for the distance-learning activities could be based on the following actions:

• Presentation of the project GTU/GTTI and its distance-learning activities in symposiums, seminars, professional magazines, etc.
• Selection of a programme of courses of high interest (hot issues) for the region and the targeted countries. The feedback from the countries (policy makers, operators, regulators, ISPs, etc.) is essential.
• Organisation of face-to-face short (2-3 days) preparatory sessions previous to the distance-learning sessions. This is to be done initially until the distance learning sessions are well known by the telecom community. The idea of preliminary face-to-face seminars has been informally suggested and discussed by African experts and some ITU officials.
• Organisation of face-to-face short (2-3 day) seminars following the distance-learning sessions. The objectives of these types of seminars are to consolidate the work carried out during the distance-learning session and to promote professional contacts. As previously mentioned, the VTC methodology includes a face-to-face seminar at the end of the e-learning session.

The GTU/GTTI is now seeking resources and partners to implement the above-mentioned actions. We are in a situation similar to the Teleproject one of ten years ago where we need to prove that the necessary e?learning culture exists in the telecom sector in Africa in order to promote and take advantage of it. Perhaps the first step is getting the telecom sector and the Internet to consider applications, like e-learning, very close to their own business.