Universities in a digital era

The 1998 conference of the European Distance Education Network will be held in Bologna, Italy, from 24 to 26 June 1998. The focus of the conference will be "Universities in a digital era - transformation, innovation and tradition".

Current trends in the development of information and communications technologies are giving real stimulus to traditional universities which are challenged to redefine their strategies and functioning. The growing importance of open and distance learning in the "digital era", and the experience gained from it, offers interesting interactions with higher education and encourages the development of new paradigms and solutions. The conference marks the tenth anniversary of the signing of the European Magna Charta of Universities, making it a significant event in the course of cooperative development of the university sphere and open and distance learning.

The organizers are currently seeking papers for presentation during the conference in the following areas:

- Open and distance learning policy and human resource development;
- Tradition and paradigm shift:
. Universities, open and distance learning and information/communications technology;
. Networking and convergence;
- Responses to changing social demands at traditional and open universities;
- New partnerships: corporate sector's demands and experiences;
- EU programmes, their perspectives and impacts;
- Technology and pedagogical content - synergy of open and distance learning and information technology;
- Client-oriented distance learning - marketing and economics;
- The virtual university.
Further information may be obtained from:

EDEN Secretariat
Technical University of Budapest
H-1111 Budapest
Egry J. u. 1.
Tel. +36-1-4631628; Fax +36-1-4631858
E-mail: eden@khmk.bme.hu

Abstracts should be sent to the same address.