Borderless Education: Breaking Down Barriers through E-Learning and Effective Networking

In recent years, there has been an impressive growth in borderless education primarily due to the following reasons: the growing imperative of higher education institutions to internationalise, the preponderance of ICT and the rapid growth in worldwide demand for education. This has led to very active discussions on this subject from both the perspective of the developed and developing nations, each trying to evaluate the benefits and costs of adopting such an education.

Based on the experience of Open University Malaysia (OUM), the first ODL university in Malaysia, I believe that developing countries do have the capability to harness ICT and other technologies for their human capital development to break down barriers that impede their socio-economic progress. An equally important endeavour towards this end is via developing effective networking particularly among countries in a similar stage of economic development.

In this paper, I will share on how OUM has effectively leveraged the e-learning component of its blended delivery mode. More specifically, the paper will discuss the e-learning practices at OUM, the challenges that we face and how we seek to overcome them. I will also share OUM’s efforts in developing and fostering strategic networking with other similar organisations in the region, the outcomes of which have been rewarding to all parties concerned.

The paper concludes with a firm belief that through a well-coordinated effort in e-learning and effective networking, ODL and other higher education institutions in this region will be able to galvanise our resources to fulfil common goals in providing quality education to all.