Open Polytechnic Lecturer awarded fellowship to Shanghai Open University
Open Polytechnic Associate Professor of Research and Statistics, Dr Zlatko Kovacic, recently returned from a two week
fellowship at the Shanghai Open University where his presentations on the Open Polytechnic’s e-learning courses were
well received.
The purpose of the Fellowship Programme is to promote cooperation between foreign open universities and Shanghai Open
University through academic exchange and to enhance the quality of teaching and research in the field of open and
distance learning.
Having been invited to participate in the Shanghai Open University International Staff Exchange Fellowship Programme, Dr
Kovacic was a visiting scholar at the Institute of International Exchange, Shanghai Open University in late November.
Dr Kovacic shared his expertise on distance learning and presented a seminar on Teachers Training: E-Learning at The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand.
“The focus was on the Open Polytechnic’s Certificate in Designing and Facilitating E-Learning. Both visiting scholars and SOU staff expressed their interests in our e-learning courses,” he says. The Open
Polytechnic is internationally respected as a leader in e-learning, having been an early adopter of technology mediated
education.
Dr Kovacic’s presentation focussed on a comparative analysis of the Open Polytechnic’s and Shanghai Open University’s
strategies and practices in student assessment and designing and developing online education resources with the aim of
reducing dropout rates in distance and online education.
Other participants in the exchange programme represented universities from around the world including Indira Gandhi
National Open University and Netaji Subhas Open University from India, Universitas Terbuka (Indonesia), University of
Miskolc (Hungary), Kathmandu University (Nepal), Open Education Unit at Dublin City University (Ireland), Allama Iqbal
Open University and Virtual University of Pakistan (Pakistan).
For more information on the Open Polytechnic’s Certificate in Designing and Facilitating E-Learning go to http://bit.ly/1ysHfXY. To find out more on Dr Kovacic’s research visit his online research repository.
ENDS