Global campus

Updated on: Thursday, December 17, 2009

Kolkata: Tasmac students have an opportunity to become part of the world’s largest online global campus.

The virtual ‘Global Campus’ has been launched by the University of Wales with the aim of bringing together its 80,000 students and more than 120 higher education institutions in 30 countries.

Students studying for a University of Wales qualification at Tasmac will have access to a range of online services at www.wales.ac.uk.

Lecturers teaching University of Wales courses worldwide will also be able to log on, and access a personalised academic network connecting them with their University of Wales colleagues around the world.

University of Wales students and lecturers will receive exclusive access details to their Global Campus accounts via their Tasmac email address.

Once logged in, students, staff and alumni can meet, start discussion groups, form common interest groups and study collaboratively. By using a whole host of integrated Google applications, students and staff will have access to an online office suite which will enable them to share documents, schedule work and meetings, chat and even hold their own video conferences.

The university email address assigned to them will remain with them for life, enabling them to stay connected with the University and with its worldwide network.

Vice-Chancellor of University of Wales, Professor Marc Clement, said: “The Global Campus has been created in response to our desire to engage more with our international body of students, and to enhance the student experience.

“The aim is to provide a comprehensive array of online services – a virtual campus where all the members of our university, wherever they are in the world, can meet. Our aspiration is to create a strong, worldwide, fully interactive community of staff, students and alumni – a university in the truest sense of the word. We urge all students and staff to become a part of that community by logging on and giving us their own input and contributions to the campus.”

Many of the University of Wales’ international students are distance learners and Professor Clement is confident that Global Campus will provide them with a virtual campus whose facilities they can use just as they would those of a bricks and mortar campus: “Our aim is to create a global community of scholars, and give our students the tools they need to communicate and work together, regardless of location. Students taking a University of Wales MBA in Singapore can discuss their studies with students taking a University of Wales MBA in India, Wales or China.”

Plenty of universities have secure areas on their websites for students where they can access services, online learning resources etc, but the range of online tools, social networking and integrated services which will be available on the Global Campus is still quite rare. Professor Clement said: “The University of Wales Global Campus will allow people to make their own contributions. We hope that our students, wherever they may be, will use the resources that Global Campus offers to enhance their relationship with the University.”

Global campus

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