The two-day event was foremost intended to be an interactive forum for exchanging and sharing experiences. It was designed to offer a platform that brings together UNU academic staff from different Research and Training Center/Programmes (RTC/Ps), selected experts from the field of e-learning, as well as strategic partners, to creatively think and create a collaborative approach to improve the impact of capacity development actions. Participants were invited to join efforts to conceptualize a common vision for e-learning which could lead to the pooling of resources, capacity and expertise to better address the challenges in capacity development.

Although still constrained by lack of appropriate infrastructure, recent studies show an increasing integration of technology in Higher Education Institutions (HEI) in developing countries, in particular in Africa. Especially in areas where pressing development challenges require an increasingly rapid adoption of new knowledge, skills and competences, ICT and e-learning represent a huge potential. Yet HEIs often fail to utilise e-learning in a way to equip faculties with the necessary competences and organisational frameworks.

A comprehensive mobilization of knowledge and efforts is thus necessary to take up this challenge. That is why the United Nations University through the Vice-Rectorate in Europe in cooperation with the UNU Headquarters and the UNU Media Studio called for the strategic workshop at the UN Campus in Bonn to design a common innovative and consolidated UNU approach to e-learning for capacity development.

Efforts have already been made inside the UNU to develop e-learning activities. This latest workshop built upon these initial experiences to elaborate a holistic strategy to develop a coherent UNU capacity strengthening service portfolio to develop, implement and improve innovative capacity development methodologies using e-learning and ICT and to disseminate them effectively.