The Network of Virtual Universities in the Islamic World
Based on the 13th session of the Executive Committee on scientific and technological cooperation of organization of Islamic conference (COMSTECH) on April 2-3, 2003 in Islamabad, Pakistan and in order to strengthen relations and improve the scientific, educational, research and technological collaborations among Islamic countries, the Network of Virtual Universities in the Islamic World has been established for supporting the development plans of the educational and research networks based on the new information and communication technologies and knowledge engineering, promoting cooperation culture and facilitating collaboration among elites and scientists of Islamic countries through laying suitable grounds. Some of the objectives of the Network are as follows:
1. Promoting the role and place of open, distance and virtual universities in national and regional development plans of the Islamic countries
2. Providing grounds for joint cooperations among universities and scientific research centers of Islamic countries
3. Organizing educational programs and launching inter-network joint research projects
4. Promoting the level of scientific, educational and research findings of the Islamic countries
5. Creating knowledge network and reducing the rate of scientists emigration from country
6. Considering possibilities for expanding deprived and less developed geographical areas.
Among the duties of the Network the following can be mentioned:
- Creating virtual research and educational environment with a flexibility of choosing study goals freely, deciding an appropriate time and place for study and intelligent planning for suitable course content, approaches and optimized tools for acquiring knowledge
- Repairing and completing inefficient structures and methods of conventional universities that they are faced in securing different scientific needs
- Paving the way for producing joint research, laboratory and educational materials necessary for different systems such as under web, multimedia and audio-visual products
- Supporting the feasibility of creating virtual universities in member countries of Islamic Conference
- Communicating and helping in exchanging professors, students, experts, research results and transferring the scientific findings in Islamic Countries
- Defining and creating a unified system for copyright of educational products and scientific contents in Islamic member Countries