September 2010
Dr. Venkataraman Balaji joined COL on 1 September 2010. He is a worker in the area of Information and Communication Technology applied to rural development. He has been active with his students and colleagues in the area of Learning Technology as well, for close to a decade. He received the World Technology Award in the Education category in 2001 (www.wtn.net).
Balaji received his Masters’ degree from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur in 1984, and completed his PhD in Energy Studies from the University of Madras in India in 1991. He was on the staff of the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation in Chennai in India in various capacities (1991-2000), notably as the director of the informatics. During his tenure there, he facilitated the development of the Information Villages research project that has created a globally recognized model for applying contemporary ICT in rural development. His work was featured in the international media extensively. Read more>>
June 2010
Mr. Paul West, COL’s Director of Knowledge Management and Information Technology, left COL at the end of May to return to South Africa, taking up a position at the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). Mr. West is now leading the development of SAQA’s Career Development Multi-Channel Helpline, which will bring educational and career guidance services and resources to all South Africans, especially those located remote areas. The service centre is expected to grow to handle about one million enquiries per year, in 11 languages, through a variety of technologies.
Mr. West came to COL in August 2001 from the Centre for Lifelong Learning at Technikon SA, in South Africa, where he was Director. At COL, he managed the development of systems to harness internal knowledge assets and the wealth of knowledge that is being created throughout the Commonwealth and the world. He has been an outspoken advocate for the use of open source software, open education resources, Web 2.0 technologies and “cloud” services, and has helped to clarify issues around the interpretation and use of Creative Commons copyright licenses. He also led the establishment of the Virtual University for the Small States of the Commonwealth initiative.
COL President Sir John Daniel commented: “Paul will be sorely missed. As well as ensuring that COL operates with state-of-the-art IT and Knowledge Management systems, his strategy for developing the VUSSC has been brilliant. He has a tremendous talent for helping people do things they didn’t know that they were capable of doing.”
May 2010
The University of South Africa (UNISA) conferred the degree of Doctor of Literature & Philosophy (honoris causa) on COL President Sir John Daniel at its convocation in Pretoria in May. Addressing new graduates, Sir John spoke about “UNISA’s Unique Academic Odyssey”, saying “No university in the world has faced a more challenging trajectory than UNISA in the last two decades.” Sir John’s address is online at www.col.org/speeches.
December 2009
COL President Sir John Daniel received an Honorary Doctorate of Education from the Open University of Malaysia at its convocation in November 2009.
Sir John also received the Frank H. Klassen award of the International Council for Education for Teaching (ICET) for his “leadership and scholarly contributions in teacher education”. He delivered a keynote address entitled ‘How do we recruit and train 10 million teachers? at ICET’s World Assembly in Muscat, Oman on 14 December 2009.
September 2009
Ms. Alison Mead Richardson joined COL in September 2010 as Education Specialist, Skills Development. An experienced distance education manager, practitioner and consultant, Ms. Mead Richardson has worked on more than 21 international projects in Botswana, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa and Zambia. She has also worked for international development agencies including the African Development Bank, the European Union, the New Zealand Agency for International Development and the U.K. Department for International Development. She holds a Masters degree in Distance Education from the University of London and is currently carrying out doctoral research with the University of South Africa.
Ms. Trudi van Wyk also joined COL in September 2010 as Education Specialist, eLearning. She has worked for the South African Department of Education for the past 13 years, most recently as Director of Curriculum Innovation where she focused on information and communications technologies (ICTs) in education policy, applications and its implementation in education and training. Ms. van Wyk was COL’s Focal Point in South Africa and managed various international ICT collaboration projects. She holds a Master of Education degree from Rand Afrikaans University (now the University of Johannesburg).
July 2009
Ms. Helena Fehr, former Board Secretary and Gender Officer left COL in June: In addition to her education and experience, Helena brought passion, a smile and a ready ear to all her work at COL over the past ten years. This contributed to her diplomacy and success working with COL’s Board and sister organisations, as well as being key to forwarding gender mainstreaming at COL as our Gender Officer. In her earlier years at COL, she had great success expanding our Youth Internship programme, sharing her love of international work with young Canadians. Helena is now taking her diplomacy, passion and ODL expertise to the British Columbia Industry Training Authority to tackle the 21st century challenges of scale and quality in lifelong learning, as well as keeping her toe in international waters through consultancy. --By Ms. Alex Hennig, Designer/Production Coordinator
Dr. Tanyss Munro, former Education Specialist, Governance left COL at the end of June: Tanyss worked in the relatively unexplored area of non-formal ODL as a means to support community development with a special focus on governance, both at the local level as well as within organisations and institutions. She made important contributions in moving the focus away from print towards the use of folk and more traditional media such as video and radio, which have far greater relevance in poor and marginalised areas that form a special mandate for COL. Tanyss is an active and thoughtful listener, a skill clearly evident in the type and strength of partnerships that she developed in her tenure at COL and which continue to bear positive results. She brought a sharp wit and wonderful sense of humour. We miss her laughter in the hallways. --By Mr. Ian Pringle, Education Specialist, Media
Mr. Joshua Mallet, former Education Specialist, Learning & Livelihoods left COL at the end of June: Joshua came to COL in early 2004 on secondment from the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana. As an educator, Joshua has always had a passion for providing opportunities for low-income and rural populations – and especially for young women – to help improve their livelihoods through open and distance learning, literacy, vocational and entrepreneurial training programmes. Never without a smile and a positive spin on anything confronting him, Joshua built a significant network of likeminded partners who worked with COL on many successful programmes throughout the Commonwealth. He also is known for delighting audiences and conference participants with valuable presentations that he delivered with flair and often accompanied by eye-catching attire, which could be anything from traditional Western African to modern Western Cowboy. --By Mr. Dave Wilson, Communications Manager
June 2009
COL Vice President Professor Asha Kanwar has been awarded the Individual Prize for Excellence from the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE). The prize, which recognises attainment of the highest possible excellence in the fields of open, distance, virtual and flexible learning. was presented at the ICDE’s World Conference in Maastricht, The Netherlands on 9 June 2009. Prof. Kanwar was saluted for her work for the cause of open and distance education, as well as her significant contributions to gender studies.
Ms. Rebecca Kinakin has joined COL as Project Manager, Child-Friendly Schools, an initiative between COL and UNICEF involving ten countries in Africa and Asia. She is co-ordinating the development of training materials and teacher training workshops to support the mainstreaming of Child-Friendly Schools into teacher education programmes. Ms. Kinakin has worked with several non-governmental/non-profit organisations including the David Suzuki Foundation, Oxfam America and the World Wide Fund for Nature. Most recently, she spent five years in Cambodia where she co-ordinated and advised on projects involving community-based natural resource management, capacity building and networking, and participatory action research.
Dr. Wayne Mackintosh, most recently COL’s Education Specialist, eLearning and ICT Policy, has been appointed Founding Director of the International Centre for Open Education at Otago Polytechnic in New Zealand.
March 2009
Mr. Paul West, COL’s Director, Knowledge Management and Information Technology, was the mace bearer at the Commonwealth Day observance in March 2009 that celebrated 60 years of the Commonwealth. As COL’s nominee for this honour, Mr. West preceded Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth into Westminster Abbey.
February 2009
Dr. K. Balasubramanian has been appointed as COL’s Education Specialist, Food Security and Environment. Most recently an independent consultant to international agencies including UNDP, NR International UK and COL, he was instrumental in designing and implementing COL’s Lifelong Learning for Farmers programme. Dr. Bala has more than 20 years of experience in development, including initiating information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) activities and sustainable natural resource management. His past roles have also included capacity building and human resource development using ICT in the rural sector, agriculture and animal husbandry. Dr. Bala holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from Bangalore University.
Mr. John Lesperance has been appointed as COL’s Education Specialist, VUSSC. Formerly the Director of Further Education Development, Ministry of Education, Seychelles, Mr. Lesperance has worked in the field of curriculum development for open and distance learning institutes for several years. He has been involved with the Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth (VUSSC) as a team leader and interlocutor, and is a member of the Seychelles Qualification Authority Board. Mr. Lesperance holds a Masters degree in Technical and Vocational Education from Bolton Institute, UK.
COL President Sir John Daniel was awarded the Association of Commonwealth Universities’ (ACU) 2008 Symons Medal at the ACU Conference of Executive Heads in Hyderabad, India. The Symons Medal, which honours individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the ACU and/or to Commonwealth universities, was established in 1973 by Professor T.H.B. Symons, then Chairman of the ACU and President of Trent University, Canada. The 2008 Symons Medal was also awarded to Professor Brenda Gourley, whose many distinctions include outgoing chair of the ACU, Vice Chancellor of the U.K. Open University and Honorary Fellow of COL. University Canada West, Canada’s first for-profit university, conferred a Doctorate of Laws, honoris causa, on COL President Sir John Daniel at the university’s third convocation in Victoria, Canada in November 2008.
Mr. Ian Pringle, COL Education Specialist, Media, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Community Radio Fund of Canada. The purpose of the fund is to support the development and sustainability of community-oriented radio in Canada.
September 2008
Ms. Amy Monaghan has been appointed Manager of COL's Information Resource Centre (IRC). She is responsible for managing COL's physical library and maintaining online resources such as news feeds and COL's Knowledge Finder. Prior to joining COL in 2005, Ms. Monaghan was Library Manager with the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder in Western Australia. She succeeds Mr. Nick Gao who left COL earlier this year.
August 2008
Dr. Abdurrahman Umar joined COL in August 2008 as Education Specialist, Teacher Education. He obtained his B.A (educ) from the University of Sokoto in 1982 and his M.Ed and PhD from the University College of Wales Aberystwyth UK in 1985 and1988 respectively. From 2001 he was the Director of Academic Services at the National Teachers' Institute Kaduna, Nigeria, which is a single mode distance learning institution that is exclusively dedicated to teacher training and an enrolment of over 200,0000 students.
July 2008
Dr. Pema Eden Samdup joins CEMCA as Programme Officer on 10th July 2008. She comes to us from the Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi where she was a Senior Lecturer in English. With a Ph.D. in Cultural Studies from the Centre for English Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, she brings with her expertise in language, literature and cultural studies apart from her experience in curriculum design, and course development for about 8 years in the Open and Distance Learning system from one of the world's largest mega universities - IGNOU. She is also deeply interested in ICT intervention in the Humanities.
COL's new Information Technology Manager is Ms. Anna Lee. Prior to joining COL, Ms. Lee was Manager of Information Systems and Technology at the University of British Columbia Library in Canada and Divisional Director of Information Services at Singapore's Institute of Technical Education.
COL President Sir John Daniel was one of 14 people to be awarded honorary degrees from the Université de Montréal, Canada, at the 2008 convocation ceremonies. He received a Doctorate honoris causa in recognition of his personal achievement and active participation in society.
April 2008
Professor Mohan Menon left COL after seven years as Education Specialist, School Development and Team Leader, Education Sector. During his tenure with COL, Professor Menon made several contributions towards teacher education and open and distance learning (ODL) in developing Commonwealth countries. His notable contributions were in collaboration with the Centre for Environment Education, India, which led to the ODL-based "Green Teacher" programme; helping to strengthen the National Teachers' Institute in Nigeria; assisting in the development of the Quality Assurance Toolkit for Teacher Education Institutions and in facilitating the establishment of the Indian Consortium for Educational Transformation (I-CONSENT). A respected expert in the area of ODL, Professor Menon is thanked for his leadership, his ability to form effective partnerships and his tenacity in pursuing initiatives to improve the availability and quality of teacher education.
January 2008
Mr. Ian Pringle joined COL on 2 January 2008 as Education Specialist, Media. He will manage and direct a portfolio of interventions around the Commonwealth in the use of mass media for health, governance and community development .
Mr. Pringle takes over from Mr. David Walker, who made a tremendous contribution across the Commonwealth by facilitating the use of mass media for development purposes, especially in health and agriculture. Mr. Walker led numerous initiatives that empowered people in developing countries to use community radio and video to address challenges such as HIV/AIDS prevention, agriculture, skills development, teacher education, poverty alleviation and food security.
August 2007
COL Education Specialist, Dr. Wayne Mackintosh, has joined the WikiMedia Foundation Advisory Board. The Advisory Board is an international network of experts who give the Foundation meaningful help on a regular basis. The Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit charitable organisation dedicated to encouraging the growth, development and distribution of free, multilingual content, and to providing the full content of these wiki-based projects to the public free of charge. The Wikimedia Foundation operates some of the largest collaboratively edited reference projects in the world, including Wikipedia, one of the 10 most visited websites in the world.
August 2007
Mr. Dalip Tetri joined COL as Head, Finance and Administration of the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA) on 3 August 2007.
April 2007
Dr. Tanyss Munro joined COL on 1 April 2007 as Education Specialist, Governance. She will be assisting Commonwealth member countries in developing and adapting open and distance learning materials and training to strengthen democracy and good governance through the public sector, the educational system and NGOs.
Mr. Rod Tyrer returned to the UK's Department for International Development in March when his secondment to COL ended. On joining in 2003, he focused on helping COL adopt the precepts and practices of results-based management. After his appointment as Programme Director in 2004, he coordinated the preparation of the 2006-2009 Plan, the most thorough exercise of its type COL had ever undertaken. His legacy to COL is a programme firmly aimed at development goals set within a contemporary logic model focused on outputs, outcomes and impacts, with performance indicators to match. The function of Programme Director has now been merged with that of Vice President.
May 2007
COL President Sir John Daniel has been appointed to the Advisory Board of the Whitney International University System. Whitney is the first global university focused on students from developing countries. Partnering with universities in countries around the world, Whitney delivers a blended learning experience. Sir John joins a distinguished international group of education and business leaders on the Advisory Board.
Sir John has also accepted the role of Patron of WikiEducator, a collaborative online project focused on developing free content for eLearning.
The European Distance and E-learning Network (EDEN) Secretariat has named Sir John an EDEN Senior Fellow in recognition of his contribution to the development of open, distance and eLearning in Europe. The award was announced at the EDEN 2007 Annual Conference in Naples, Italy in June 2007.
Sir John was recently recognised with an honorary degree from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He received the title Doctor of Letters at the Centre for Continuing Education's spring convocation ceremony.
February 2007
Dr. R. Sreedher joined COL as Director of the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA) on 1 February 2007 and Mrs. Frances J. Ferreira (formerly Mensah) joined COL as Education Specialist, Basic Education and Open Schooling, on 22 January 2007. Dr. Sreedher suceeds Dr. Usha Reddi and Mrs. Ferreira succeeds Ms. Susan Phillips, who has retired. Ms. Phillips joined COL in 1989, its first year of operation. COL also sends best wishes with Ms. Helen Lentell, who has joined the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji as Director of the Centre for Educational Development and Technology. Ms. Lentell had been COL's Education Specialist, Training and Materials Development since 2001.
September 2006
Dr. Willie Clarke-Okah joined COL on 1 September 2006 as Education Specialist, Higher Education & Policy Development.
Mr. Brian Long joined COL on 1 September 1998 as Director with responsibilities for programme and staff management, resource allocation and representation to the wider community. In June 2000, he was promoted to Vice President and in July 2002, he was given the additional responsibility as Chief Operating Officer of COL International and of overseeing COL's fee-for-service activity. Sadly, his health deteriorated in 2005 and he had to step down from the Vice Presidency in September on medical advice.
January 2006
Professor Asha Singh Kanwar was been appointed Vice President of COL effective 1 April 2006. Professor Kanwar joined COL in 2003 as Education Specialist, Higher Education. In this role, she has worked in over 15 Commonwealth countries and has been particularly active in developing partnerships with governments and institutions in West Africa. Previously, she held a joint UNESCO/COL appointment at UNESCO's Bureau Régional pour l'Éducation en Afrique (BREDA) in Dakar, Senegal.
November 2005
Associate Professor Wayne Mackintosh, will join COL as Education Specialist, Educational Technology: Policy, in May 2006.
August 2005
Mr. Vis Naidoo, Education Specialist, Educational Technology Policy & Planning, has returned to his native South Africa after five years at COL. Mr. Naidoo has accepted the position of CEO of Mindset Network, a non-profit organisation that addresses the educational challenges of schooling, health and livelihood through the delivery of free education content via satellite networks. While at COL, Mr. Naidoo worked with Commonwealth Governments and organisations to help them focus on educational technology policy and applications and its impact on education and training systems within an open and distance learning context. He was also active in leading the development of schoolnets. "Vis' career is a nice example of what should be a growing trend, namely the return of African leaders to Africa after they have acquired valuable experience outside this continent," said Sir John Daniel, President of COL, in a recent speech to the African Council of Distance Education.
May 2005
Sir John Daniel, COL President and Chief Executive Officer, recently received two honorary degrees. In April, Netaji Subhas Open University in Kolkata, India, awarded him an honorary Doctor of Letters. In May, Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, BC, Canada, also awarded Sir John an honorary Doctor of Letters in the new university's first convocation ceremony.
March 2005
Mr. Malay Kapoor joined COL in March 2005 as Human Resources & Contracts Coordinator. His role is to focus on human resource issues including the implementation of a results-based performance management system and contract policies. Prior to joining COL, Mr. Kapoor worked with Emirates Airlines in Dubai (UAE) for six years in the Human Resources Department. He has also been involved in publishing educational and assessment tools for many years and has handled government and non-government contracts with international agencies including United Nations Drug Control Program (UNDCP) and World Health Organization (WHO). Mr. Kapoor succeeds Mr. Michael Cuddihy who returned to Australia in February.
February 2005
Mr. Dele Omueti, PMP joined COL as IT Coordinator in February 2005. In this newly created position in the organisation, Mr. Omueti is responsible for managing all aspects of COL's information technology environment, including support to COL personnel, management of IT vendors and maintaining a robust information technologies and services environment within the organisation. Mr. Omueti is an IT professional with experience in the air transport industry, oil and gas industry and IT service industry in West Africa and North America and is a Certified Project Manager through his membership in the Project Management Institute. He is actively involved in the Society of PM Professionals in Vancouver and is working towards completing a Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from Simon Fraser University, Vancouver BC.
January 2005
Mr. Rod Tyrer has been named Programme Director. He joined COL in March 2003 on a two-year secondment from the British Department for International Development (DFID), London and was responsible for assisting in the implementation of a Results-Based Management framework for the organisation. As Programme Director, Rod's role is to ensure that COL develops appropriate and relevant triennial plans and implements the approved programme in an effective, efficient and economical manner according to the principles of Results-Based Management.
October 2004
Mr. Vis Naidoo was named a Finalist in the Policy category of the 2004 World Technology Awards. An Education Specialist with COL, Vis works with national ministries of education and educational institutions to support the development of ODL and ICT in education policies. As a Finalist, Vis becomes a member of the prestigious World Technology Network. The World Technology Network operates in association with NASDAQ, Microsoft, TIME Magazine and Science Magazine.
August 2004
Mr. Vis Naidoo has been named a nominee for a 2004 World Technology Award. Current members of the World Technology Network - most of whom are previous winners and finalists for previous Awards cycles - first nominate the innovative companies and individuals that they believe are doing the work of greatest likely long-term significance, and then later cast their votes to determine the four Finalists and a Winner for each of the different Awards categories.
June 2004
Sir John Daniel joined COL on 1 June 2004 as President and Chief Executive Officer. Sir John is a world-renowned authority in open and distance learning and comes to COL from UNESCO, where he was Assistant Director-General for Education. He succeeds Dato' Professor Gajaraj (Raj) Dhanarajan who retired at the end of May.
April 2004
Mr. Michael Cuddihy joined COL in April 2004. He has completed Business and Law undergraduate degrees, as well as a Masters degree in management. These qualifications are complemented by eight years of work experience with the Australian Government, three years in contract management areas and an additional five years in various project and policy roles. Michael is responsible for the development of COL's contract management function and is also advising on human resource matters.
March 2004
Mr. Joshua Caleb Mallet joined COL's staff in March 2004 as Education Specialist, Literacy and Livelihoods, on secondment from the University of Education, Winneba, where he has been Administrator for Distance Learning for the past nine years. Mr. Mallet has been closely associated with livelihood training in Ghana and other countries and has assisted NGOs and national institutions working with low-income populations to help them create employment opportunities, especially for young women.
February 2004
Dr. Lewis Perinbam, O.C., Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Commonwealth of Learning has announced the appointment of Sir John Daniel, a world-renowned authority in open and distance learning and currently Assistant Director-General for Education at UNESCO, as President and Chief Executive Officer of COL. He succeeds Dato' Professor Gajaraj (Raj) Dhanarajan who retires in May.
October 2003
Mr. John Bartram, COL's Education Specialist, Technical/Vocational Education and Training (TVET), retired from COL at the end of September and has returned to Australia. He joined COL in June 1998 from the Adelaide TAFE Institute in South Australia, where he was responsible for many international programmes, fellowships and consultancies conducted in and for the Asia-Pacific region. Mr. Bartram steered several initiatives while at COL, including COL's TVET Programme for the Pacific (facilitating collaboration designed to increase TVET access throughout the Pacific Islands by using open and distance learning) and technical teacher training systems in the Caribbean and Africa.
July 2003
Dr. Krishna Alluri joined COL in January 1997 on an attachment as a Visiting Fellow and continued as a staff consultant and then in a staff position from July 1999. In July 2003, he became COL Education Specialist with responsibility for food security and environment programmes. Dr. Alluri develops and manages initiatives where distance education and open learning applications can be encouraged and applied in the agricultural, forestry and fisheries sectors. He has fostered several partnerships with local NGOs and international organisations that bring education and training to grass-root levels in rural communities. First working in India, Dr. Alluri has been involved in agricultural research, training and development for almost 30 years. He has worked for several international organisations, including the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI, Philippines) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA, Nigeria).
March 2003
Professor Asha Kanwar joined COL as Education Specialist, Higher Education on 1 March 2003 with the responsibility for working with Commonwealth governments and organisations in the areas of tertiary education systems development, continuing professional education and quality assurance within the context of open and distance learning. Prior to joining COL, Professor Kanwar was a consultant in open and distance learning at UNESCO-BREDA in Dakar, Senegal, on secondment from the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi, India. One of her primary responsibilities during this assignment was to co-ordinate seven COL-UNESCO projects in sub-Saharan Africa.
Ms. Andrea Hope, who held this position from January 2001 completed her employment with COL in January 2003 and has now returned to Hong Kong.
Mr. Rod Tyrer joined COL in March 2003 as Special Adviser, Strategy, Evaluation and Monitoring with responsibility for assisting in the implementation of a Results-Based Management (RBM) framework for the organisation. He is on a two-year secondment from the British Department for International Development (DFID), London, where he is a Senior Education Adviser. As a strategic planner, Mr. Tyrer worked for 10 years in the UK higher education system and for four years with the Papua New Guinea Department of Police.
December 2002
Ms. Angela Kwan was appointed Development Manager for COL in November 2002. The position was created in order to bring together all those projects that COL undertakes on a fee-for-service basis. Ms. Kwan, who previously served as Project Officer in the President's office for five years, is now responsible for seeking out new fee-for-service opportunities where COL can extend its value to the Commonwealth, within its mandate. Prior to immigrating to Canada in 1996, Ms. Kwan was Head of Administration and Accommodation at the Open Learning Institute of Hong Kong (now Open University of Hong Kong).
In June, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien appointed Mr. Lewis Perinbam, O.C., COL's Senior Adviser, External Relations, to the Board of Governors of the Canadian Centre for Management Development. Created in 1991, the Centre is dedicated to enhancing public sector management capabilities, excellence in teaching and research into public sector management, and promoting a strong corporate culture in the federal public service. Mr. Perinbam has had a career that has spanned three continents: Asia, Europe and North America. He has served as Executive Director of the World University Services of Canada, the first full-time Secretary-General of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, the founding Executive Director of the Canadian University Service Overseas and as a Vice-President of the Canadian International Development Agency.
Staff consultant, Dr. Walter Uegama, was honoured by the Consortium for North American Higher Education Collaboration (CONAHEC) for his pioneering work in promoting higher education in the Americas. CONAHEC is a tri-national (Canada, USA and Mexico) consortium advancing collaboration, co-operation and community-building among higher education institutions in North America. Through his career at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Dr. Uegama has been an active supporter of CONAHEC and, representing UBC, was a founding member of the Consortium's Executive Committee from 1994. He is working with COL and South Asian open universities in developing a collaborative Commonwealth Executive Master of Business Administration/Master of Public Administration distance education programme. http://conahec.org
Mr. Patrick Julien retired as Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of COL International at the end of September. Mr. Julien joined COL in 1998, on secondment from the Canadian Department of Industry, and was chiefly responsible for establishing COL's affiliate, COL International.
May 2002
COL in the Pacific: Ms. Jenny Williams, Course Design Portfolio Manager at The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand (TOPNZ), has been engaged on a one-year secondment to COL as project manager for COL technical/vocational education and training (TVET) programmes in the Pacific. Ms. Williams will continue to be based at TOPNZ and function with support from the host institution.
COL in Africa: Former Pro-Vice Chancellor of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU, India), Professor Asha S. Kanwar, has accepted a one-year secondment from IGNOU to the UNESCO Regional Office for Education in Africa. As COL/UNESCO Co-ordinator, Professor Kanwar will work on several projects that are included in a newly formed joint COL/UNESCO programme for Sub-Saharan Africa.
September 2001
Professor Mohan B. Menon joined COL at the beginning of August 2001 as Education Specialist, Teacher Training, responsible for facilitating Commonwealth Governments and institutions in focussing on the use of open and distance education for professional development of teachers and other education personnel.
Professor Menon holds an M.Sc. from the University of Calicut, a B.Ed. from the Regional College of Education, Mysore, and an M.Ed. and Ph.D. in Instructional Designing from the Centre of Advanced Study in Education (CASE), M.S. University of Baroda. He has over 25 years of research, teaching and administrative experience. He was Director of the Indira Gandhi National Open University School of Education from 1992 - 1996. From 1996 - 1999, he was Chairman of India's National Open School, after which he returned to his previous position at IGNOU.
Professor Menon has consulted in the areas of primary education, open schooling and open/distance teacher education for international agencies including UNDP, UNICEF and COL. He has a number of publications in the area of distance education and teacher education.
Paul West, originally from South Africa, also joined COL at the beginning of August 2001. His previous post at Technikon SA, in South Africa, saw him setting up the African Digital Library which serves users throughout the African continent who have Internet access. His work there also involved developing and implementing models for Information Communication Technology (ICT) Centres. Paul has moved to COL to work on knowledge management issues, including how to harness the wealth of knowledge across the Commonwealth and to make this accessible to those who need it.
Dr. Sanjaya Mishra joined the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia in New Delhi, India, in July 2001 as Programme Officer. He specialises in information and communication technology applications for teaching and learning both at a distance and face-to-face. He was with one of Indira Gandhi National Open University's Regional Centres for three years before joining IGNOU's Staff Training and Research Institute of Distance Education (STRIDE) in 1996. At STRIDE he was responsible for the revision of the course on communication technology for distance education, which is part of the Post Graduate Diploma in Distance Education (PGDDE). He has also completed a World Bank Institute programme to become a Master Trainer on Improving Training Quality through Peer Learning and Distance Mentoring.
Mr. Lewis Perinbam, O.C., COL's Senior Adviser (External Relations), received the prestigious Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation Humanitarian Award in November 2001. The Award recognises a Canadian who has, personally or administratively, contributed significant service in the fields of health, education and nature conservation in the Himalayan Region of Nepal. Mr. Perinbam's dedicated service on behalf of the world's developing countries has been highlighted in particular by leadership and sensitivity to the impoverished people of Nepal. His leadership, planning and continuity of purpose have enabled the people to become more self-reliant in the areas of health, education and conservation. An Officer of the Order of Canada, Mr. Perinbam has had a distinguished career in the Canadian public service, in international organisations and in the private sector. He was Vice-President of the Canadian International Development Agency for 18 years.
June 2001
Professor Abdul Khan, COL's Director, Development and Training, has been appointed as UNESCO's Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information.
A leader in the application of communication, distance education and education technologies in South Asia, he was Vice-Chancellor of India's Indira Gandhi National Open University from 1998 to 2000, served at COL from 1992 to 1998 and returned to COL in October of last year. He joins UNESCO in July.
Ms. Kgomotso Motlotle, COL's Education Specialist, Teacher Education, is returning to the Ministry of Education in Botswana at the end of June. She served with the Ministry for 18 years before joining COL on secondment three years ago. She has made many contributions to COL's work, including being the driving force behind the STAMP2000+ project in Southern Africa and the Pan-African Policy Dialogue on Teacher Training.
Ms. Helen Lentell will be joining COL on 1 July 2001 as Education Specialist, Training and Materials Development. She has been Head of Higher Education and Professional Studies at the National Extension College in the U.K. since 1997 and previously held a variety of posts within the U.K. Open University system between 1978 and 1997. Ms. Lentell has several publications in the field of distance education to her credit and is a frequent contributor to Open Praxis, the bulletin of International Council for Open and Distance Education.
December 2000
COL welcomed Dr. Abdul Khan back to Vancouver in October. He fills the newly created post of Director, Development and Training. Dr. Khan left COL staff in May of 1998 to take up the post of Vice-Chancellor of India's Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). While at COL from 1992 to 1998, Dr. Khan was Principal Communications Specialist, Educational Media and Non-formal Education. His earlier professional career included senior positions and adviser roles with several international agencies, and national educational institutions. On 17 January 2001, UNESCO announced that Dr. Khan of India is to join UNESCO as Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information. He will take office at the end of the first semester of 2001, when the present incumbent, Alain Modoux of Switzerland, retires.
Mr. Vis Naidoo joined COL in November 2000 as an Educational Specialist, Educational Technology. Prior to joining COL, Mr. Naidoo was the Director of the Centre for Educational Technology and Distance Education, Department of Education, South Africa. During his five years as Director, Mr. Naidoo was instrumental in shaping policy in the area of distance education and technology-enhanced learning. With an academic background in adult education, he has also lectured at the Centre for Adult Education, University of Natal, and co-ordinated a community-based non-governmental organisation.
Ms. Andrea Hope will join COL in January 2001 as Education Specialist, Higher Education. Ms. Hope was a university administrator for 20 years before becoming a higher education consultant in 1999. She held posts at the University of Loughborough and the Open University in the UK and then moved to Hong Kong in 1990 as Registrar of the newly established Open Learning Institute (now the Open University) of Hong Kong. From 1995 to 1999, she was Associate Vice-President of Lingnan College of Hong Kong 1995. Ms. Hope's higher education portfolio also includes continuing professional education, quality assurance, credit accumulation and the Commonwealth Executive MBA/MPA programme.
Ms. Hope succeeds Mr. Patrick Guiton, who retired from COL staff in November 2000. Mr. Gution has worked in distance education for over 25 years, initially at the UK Open University and then as foundation Director of External Studies at Murdoch University, Western Australia, where he established a distance education programme for higher education. He was at COL on secondment from 1991 to 1994 and joined COL staff again in May 1998. He has managed COL's higher education initiatives and continuing professional education projects designed to serve lawyers, judges, medical practitioners and pharmacists. As he left Vancouver for his home Perth, Australia, he presented COL with a lithograph of Victoria Falls by 19th century explorer and artist, Thomas Baines, to add to its Commonwealth art collection. In wishing him well in his retirement, COL's President, Professor Gajaraj Dhanarajan, said, "Patrick joined COL with an outstanding record of achievements in the field of distance and open learning in many parts of the Commonwealth. At COL he brought a passion and commitment to see distance education applied in the wider field of human development. Always a great colleague and thoughtful adviser, we will miss having Patrick around."
Mr. Nimal T.Fernando joined the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA) in July as Programme Officer, Broadcast Media. Mr. Fernando comes to CEMCA from the Educational Technology Division of the Open University of Sri Lanka and is the regional agency's first international staff member. CEMCA was established by COL as a regional agency and now has full international organisation status. It is housed in New Delhi by the Indira Gandhi National Open University.
July 2000
Mr. Brian Long, who joined COL as Director in September 1998, has been promoted to Vice President. Prior to joining COL, he was with the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, most recently as Director of the Department's International Academic Relations Division.
Ms. Patricia McWilliams, COL's Education Specialist (Training) has left COL's staff and relocated to Southern Africa to pursue her career there. Her many contributions to COL since her employment in August 1993 were principally related to her work in the area of staff training and interchange initiatives throughout the Commonwealth. Prior to joining COL, she was Co-ordinator, Distance Education with the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST).
December 1999
COL's President and Chief Executive Officer, Dato' Professor Gajaraj Dhanarajan, has had conferred on him two more honorary degrees in recognition of his contribution to distance and open learning: a Doctor of Philosophy from Allama Iqbal Open University in Pakistan and a Doctor of Social Science from the Open University of Hong Kong.
October 1999
COL Director, Mr. Brian Long, was invited to Moscow to receive one of five Awards of Merit conferred by the Russian Association for Canadian Studies on the occasion of its 10th anniversary. The awards recognise those who have played a critical role in the life of the association. Mr. Long has received similar honours from the International Council for Canadian Studies, the German-speaking Association for Canadian Studies and the Spanish Association for Canadian Studies.
COL's President, Dato' Professor Gajaraj Dhanarajan, received an Hon. D.Lett., conferred on him by Canada's Athabasca University "in recognition of his distinguished service to open and distance education throughout the Commonwealth, and his outstanding contributions to higher education." His speech delivered on this occasion is available at: www.col.org/speeches
July 1999
COL 's Chairman, Dr. H. Ian Macdonald, O.C., was recognised by the Open University of Sri Lanka for "his eminence in the fields of academia and government and his special contribution to distance education." OUSL awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Letters in June 1999. COL's President, Dato' Professor Gajaraj Dhanarajan, was meanwhile also receiving an Hon. D.Lett., conferred on him by Canada's Athabasca University "in recognition of his distinguished service to open and distance education throughout the Commonwealth, and his outstanding contributions to higher education." Speeches delivered on these occasions are available on COL's web site.
Dr. Krishna Alluri and Ms. Helena Fehr have joined COL's staff in Vancouver. Dr. Alluri has been involved in agricultural research, training and development for almost 30 years. Starting his career in India, he was later associated with the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). As Project Co-ordinator, he is responsible for developing activities where distance education and open learning applications could be promoted and encouraged in the agricultural, forestry and fisheries sectors. Ms. Fehr succeeds Mr. Greg Zador as COL's Governance and Programme Officer. With an academic and practical background in international education, she is now administering COL's Canada Caribbean Distance Education Scholarship Programme and supporting the activities of COL's Board of Governors. Mr. Zador has been appointed Economic Development Co-ordinator by the city of Winnipeg, Canada.
April 1999
James Maraj, 1930 - 1999 In memoriam
January 1999
Dr. Dennis Irvine, COL's Regional Adviser to the President for the Caribbean, has been named the Outstanding Educator in Jamaica for 1997/98 by the country's Joint Committee on Tertiary Education. A former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Dr. Irvine served as COL's Director of both Caribbean programmes and materials acquisition and development from 1989 - 1994. He is known for his energy, creativity and as a source of sound advice.
COL has appointed two new Regional Advisers to the President. Professor N. Ranjith Arthenayake, Vice-Chancellor, The Open University of Sri Lanka, will assist COL in South Asia and Mr. Esekia Solofa, Vice-Chancellor, University of the South Pacific, will provide support within the Pacific.
Ms. Rama Raghu Iyer joined the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA) in November 1998 as Programme Officer, Multimedia. She brings with her ten years of experience in designing electronic and multmedia learning systems for a variety of clients.
September 1998
Brian Long joined COL on 1 September 1998 as Director with responsibilities for programme and staff management, resource allocation and representation to the wider community. With the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade for close to twenty years, and Director of the Department's International Academic Relations Division for the past several years, Mr. Long has been at the centre of Canada's response to international education issues. He has also been a constant and knowledgeable spokesperson on and behalf of The Commonwealth of Learning.
August 1998
Dr. Usha V. Reddi became Director of the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA) on 27 July 1998, upon the retirement of Mr. Gopal Saksena. Dr. Reddi comes to CEMCA from Osmania University (Hyderabad) where she was a Professor and Director of the University's Audio Visual Research Centre.
June 1998
John Bartram joined COL in June 1998 as Education Specialist, Technical/Vocational Education and Training. Mr. Bartram comes to COL from the Adelaide TAFE Institute in South Australia, were he was responsible for many international programmes, fellowships and consultancies conducted in and for the Asia-Pacific region. He also managed the Australian UNEVOC Centre located in Adelaide TAFE. The Centre is a key force in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in developing a regional network and clearing house for curriculum and research. It also initiates curriculum projects related to the Entrepreneurial Skills Development for Small Business programme.
Patrick Y. Julien joined COL on 1 June 1998 as Chief Operating Officer for International Development. In this capacity, he is responsible for developing and implementing COL's new capability to design and deliver turnkey projects on a commercial basis for international clientele. Mr. Julien is seconded from the Canadian Department of Industry where he occupied such positions as Chief of International Development for Telecommunications and Information Technologies, Director of International Market Development, and Chief Economist on media issues with the former Department of Communications. He brings to COL an extensive background and contacts in telecommunications in more than 20 countries, and will be working closely with CIDA and the major international financial institutions, as well as suppliers of hardware and specialised services.
Dr. H.P. Padhy joined the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA) on 1 June 1998 as Programme Officer, Broadcast Media. With Master's degrees in both Philosophy and Communication, and a Ph.D. in an interdisciplinary area of philosophy, language and communication, Dr. Padhy has been working as a producer of programmes and courses, researcher, trainer and teacher in the field of audio and visual communications for several years. He has worked in various capacities at the Indian Institute of Mass Communications (IIMC), Times TV, the Central Institute for Educational Technology (CIET, at the National Council of Educational Research and Training) and Indira Gandhi National Open University.
May 1998
Patrick Guiton took up the post of Education Specialist (Higher Education) at COL headquarters on 1 May 1998. He has worked in distance education for 25 years, initially at the UK Open University and then as foundation Director of External Studies at Murdoch University, Western Australia, where he established a distance education programme for higher education. He was previously at COL on secondment from 1991 to 1994 when he introduced COL's initial projects in the field of continuing professional education designed to serve lawyers, judges, medical practitioners and pharmacists. Mr. Guiton is responsible for co-ordinating higher education and continuing professional education projects and otherwise assisting with the application of distance and open learning techniques elsewhere in COL's work.
Kgomotso Motlotle also joined COL on 1 May 1998 on secondment from the Ministry of Education in Botswana. As Education Specialist (Teacher Education), she works with Commonwealth member states in the development and promotion of teacher training through distance education programmes. Her background includes in-service training and international project management in the fields of distance education, human resource development and communications technology in education.
April 1998
At a graduation ceremony held on April 16, 1998, COL's President, Dato' Professor Gajaraj Dhanarajan, was awarded a Doctor of the University, honoris causa, by Charles Sturt University in Bathurst, NSW, Australia. The citation, read by University Vice-Chancellor, Professor C.D. Blake, states that, "Professor Dhanarajan is arguably the world's foremost distance educator."
In Dhanarajan's occasional address to the graduation ceremony, he concluded that, "in the exciting millennium that is ahead, all of us in the practise of education have an important and interesting role to play. We have the knowledge to deliver lifelong learning to users at their location of choice; we have the technology to support us in our endeavours; and we even have governments and their leaders urging for more and more education. What remains to complete the cycle is the imagination and will of those in education to bring it all together. I think we can."
As Australia's 1997 "University of the Year," Charles Sturt University is nationally recognised for its ability to reflect the needs of today's society and be responsive to the requirements of a changing world and its need for lifelong learning. From its campuses at Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Dubbo and Wagga Wagga, plus its centres at Broken Hill, Canberra, Goulburn, Manly and the central business district of Sydney, the university offers more than 300 courses to almost 25,000 on campus and distance education students.
March 1998
On March 27, 1998, the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, announced the appointment of COL's Principal Communications Specialist (Educational Media and Non-formal Education) Dr.Abdul Khan as Vice-Chancellor of the Indira Gandhi National Open University, for a five-year appointment commencing as soon as possible after the retirement of the current Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ram G. Takwale on April 10, 1998. Dr. Khan will take up his new duties on 1 June.
Having served as Acting Administrator from July 1, 1997, Ms. Doris McEachern has been appointed in a substantive capacity to manage the financial and administrative activities of COL as Manager, Finance and Administration. The position will combine the previous Administrative and Finance Officer roles into a single position.
February 1998
Congratulations to COL's Special Adviser (External Relations), Lewis Perinbam, on being named an Officer of the Order of Canada by His Excellency the Right Honourable, Roméo LeBlanc, Governor General of Canada. The honour is well deserved. The citation states: "He is one of this country's most outstanding visionaries in the field of international development. A former vice-president of the Canadian International Development Agency and founder of the Canadian University Service Overseas, he offers fresh insights into the relationships between developing countries and our own. He has launched numerous international aid programmes, which have harnessed the energies of governments, private industry, community groups and churches. Highly respected by his colleagues, he has advanced many ideas that have become models for other donor countries." The Order of Canada is Canada's highest honour for lifetime achievement.
COL 's President, Dato' Professor Gajaraj Dhanarajan, was presented with the first Asian Association of Open Universities Meritorious Service Award "to the cause of distance education in Asia" at the association's annual conference held last November in Kuala Lumpur. "Apart from his enviable professional accomplishments, Professor Dhanarajan possesses many endearing qualities," states the citation, "He combines the best of Eastern and Western values which make him an ideal person to lead an international organisation [such as COL]."
Angela Kwan joined COL in October 1997 as Executive Assistant (President's Office), supporting new project initiatives in their transition from conceptual stage to concrete work plans ready to be taken up by project managers. Prior to immigrating to Canada in 1996, she was head of administration and accommodation at the Open Learning Institute of Hong Kong.
Gregory Zador joined COL in November 1997, as Project Co-ordinator with responsibility for the development and management of the Canada Caribbean Distance Education Scholarship Programme. Mr. Zador has a background in international development and education programme management through more than 11 years of diverse field assignments with World University Service of Canada.
In November 1997, Dato' Dr. Sharom Ahmat, Regional Adviser to the President of COL for Southeast Asia (and President of Disted College, Malaysia) was awarded a degree of Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) by Deakin University for his distinguished academic and administrative leadership in the development of Malaysian education.
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