A collaborative research project that is paving the way for 21st century developments in distance education both within Australia and abroad was recently launched at the University of New England.

The $3.5 million project – led by UNE involves Charles Sturt University, Central Queensland University, the University of Southern Queensland, and New Zealand’s Massey University.
Together, these universities form a “hub” of research-based expertise on new developments in distance education practice.
UNE Vice Chancellor Professor Jim Barber who officially launched the project said the ‘hub’ was a ‘Research & Development engine’ behind a global movement in Education towards distance education.
He said he was absolutely thrilled that the University of New England is part of a consortium that is at the forefront of it,” he said. “I’m very excited that we are the home to the DE Hub and I’m very excited about the partners we have.”
Prof Barber highlighted that nowadays, the reality in education is that people could be separated
by ‘space and time’ and
nevertheless part of the same learning network, acknowledging at UNE there are students living on-campus that study by distance education.
“It is now possible through technology to do all of the social networking, all of the personal influence that we as academics and educators engage in,” he said.  “We can talk, we can interact, and we can do it in real time,” Professor Barber said.
The guest speaker at the launch was Professor Asha Kanwar, Vice-President of the Commonwealth of Learning.
“Distance education at every level – even non-formal education – is a major tool in the development of these nations,” Professor Kanwar said. “We need high-quality distance education – with research to support it. This is where DEHub comes in; I’m very glad that Australia has taken a leadership role in this respect.”
UNE’s Professor Belinda Tynan, the Director of DEHub, said that she and her colleagues were hoping to be able to work with the Commonwealth of Learning in helping to provide access to education for “a whole range of people”.
Professor Tynan confirmed that the DEHub project was a true collaboration, with the participating institutions “leading it together”.