quality

“The Global Economic Crisis and its consequences on the national educational systems: Can online education contribute to overcome the crisis?”. This is the main question that the VI International GUIDE Conference 2013, to be held in Athens (Greece) on October 3-4, 2013, will try to answer.

Abstract submission through the Call for Papers form by May 31.

Organized under the patronage of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport of Greece, the event will provide a comparative analysis of the effects of governmental policies on new training and research strategies in response to the economic crisis. In particular, the Conference will highlight the role of digital technologies in providing cost-effective equal learning opportunities, while maintaining a high quality university education.

In order to do so, the Conference will be opened by several high-profile keynote speakers, who will give a extremely valuable insight on these questions:

• Welcome address, by Prof. Alessandra Briganti (Marconi University, Italy)  
• The Impact of the Crisis on the Structure of Higher Education Systems, by Prof. Andrea Gentile (Marconi University, Italy)
• Surviving Economic Crises through Education, by David R. Cole (University of Western Sydney, Australia)
• Distance Learning and Labor Market Flexibilty, by Christodoulos Stefanidis (University of Pireus, Greece)
• Global knowledge, information technology and the humanities: can intellect exist? A historian's view, by Dr. William Mallinson (Ionian University, Greece)
• OER and MOOCs in a Time of Economic Crisis, by Sir John Daniel and Stamenka Uvalic-Trumbic (Academic Partnerships, USA)
• Economic crisis and online education, by Panagiotis E. Petrakis (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece)
• MOOCS: Disruptive Force or Disorienting Distraction?, by Dr. Arthur F. Kirk Jr. (St. Leo University, USA)

Besides, many experts coming from across the world will discuss new trends and developments in technology-enhanced learning, such as:

• Distance learning as a Strategy for National Development: Blended Education that serves the Mission, Muhammed el Sadanni  (MISR University for Science & Technology, Egypt)
• On the Effectiveness of Virtual Labs in Universities - Case studies from an Indian National Mission Project, by Shyam Diwakar (Amrita University, India)
• Distance learning impact on the public agenda setting, by Krzysztof Gurba (Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow)
• The elearning as a response to social challenges: Portrait of a situation, by Maria de Fátima Goulão (Universidade Aberta, Portugal)
• MOOCs and Global Distance Learning: Compatibility or Conflict?, by Paul Edelson (Stony Brook University/SUNY, USA)
• The civil society and the complexity of crisis: cooperation for educational change towards an open system of learning,  by Antonis Lionarakis (Hellenic Open University)
• Improving the efficiency of educational process by immersion in virtual reality, by Mikhail Lavrentyev (Novosibirsk State University, Russia)
• Online Learning for All. Accessiblity in Distance Education, by Pilar Orero (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain)
• Building Better Online Education Programs Using a Formal Quality Model, by Robert W. Robertson (Argosy University, USA)

You can check the working list of confirmed speakers here.

Please visit the official website of the conference for more information and updates.

ICORE is a non-profit and requires no membership fees to join. Open to both representatives of organisations as well as individuals, it aims to promote open research and open education as a fundamental social objective. This promotion of these goals will be accomplished through the fostering of collaboration between relevant stakeholders in open research and education, such as national, European and international policy makers, researchers, educators of all levels, students, non-profit  educational providers as well as commercial educational providers, among others.

The association's activities will include the administration of an online community portal for information exchange, the organisation of scientific and educational events (conferences, summer schools, etc.) and the establishment of creative partnerships between ICORE members to advance open research and open education internationally.  

Interested applicants can register easily at the ICORE website, where the complete first public draft of the association’s statutes can also be found. Joining before the first official meeting of ICORE on May 15 allows new members to be recognized as co-founders.