OpenScout

The OpenScout portal was presented at two conferences organized for the Africa and Middle-East Business schools in Capetown (South-Africa) and Casablanca (Morocco). Both conferences included a session on the potential of OER for management, discussing the measures to take to increase their use and presenting the OpenScout project. Participants’ comments were very positive and show that OER can be very useful to support the development of management learning capacities on the continent.

The EFMD African Conference took place on November 1-2, 2011, at Stellenbosch Graduate Business School in Capetown. The EFMD MENA conference was organized by ESCA on November 13-15, 2011 in Casablanca. Both conferences are targeted at Deans and Senior Managers of Business Schools. In total 200 participants attended the events.

Both conferences included a session discussing the potential of Open Educational Resources (OER) for management Education, followed by a demonstration of the OpenScout portal learn.openscout.net. Participants could also try the functionalities of the portal on the conferences stands.

OER can provide a cost-effective solution for African Business Schools and universities. The sector is currently growing but most of the institutions are facing a chronical shortage of resources as well as international isolation. In this context, an easier access to OER is very useful both for the students and the faculty, allowing them an easier access to up to date materials that can be incorporated in the learning processes.

Initiatives have been taken to facilitate the access to OER, such as the OER for Africa initiative, initiated by the South African Institute for Distance Education (Saide). However, this project does not yet cover management fields.

Participants manifested their interest for the OpenScout project. They underlined however the importance of offering materials available in various languages to take the diversity of the continent into account. They also advised to take into account the specificity of the users’ behaviour in Africa. Broadband connection is not available everywhere and most users download materials during the night and access them later, while off line. Through events and feedback of this type OpenScout receives valuable input to further improve its offerings.