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Iran's students to have US online courses
By Sean Coughlan, BBC News | 3 June 2014
Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-27637817

A major US online university network says restrictions are to be partially lifted on providing online courses for students in Iran. Online university courses have been caught up in US trade sanctions against Iran, Cuba and Sudan, so that students in those countries have been blocked from many free courses from US universities.

Coursera says it has been "working closely with governing authorities to navigate licences and permissions" and, as a result, "Iranian learners will now regain access to the majority of Coursera's courses". The California-based Coursera has almost eight million registered students, making it one of the world's biggest providers of so-called Moocs - massive open online courses. Coursera, which has courses from more than 100 universities, including Stanford and Yale, says it expects to be used by tens of thousands of students in Iran.

But there are still some barriers in place. "Sanctions still prohibit educational institutions and organisations from offering certain subjects," says Coursera. These include advanced-level courses in science, technology, engineering and maths. It means that anyone trying to access these courses from an Iranian internet address will be blocked. Coursera, welcoming the partial lifting of the trade ban in Iran, says it will continue to "push for access" in Cuba and Sudan. "We look toward a future where all knowledge is free, accessible and unhindered," said a Coursera statement.

Online university providers based in Europe have not been affected by the US sanctions - and have no limits on providing courses in Iran, Cuba or Sudan. A UK online university platform, FutureLearn, has provided an alternative route for students in these countries. Set up by the Open University, it provides courses from UK universities such as Sheffield, Bristol, Bath, Reading and Liverpool, along with the Monash University in Australia and Trinity College, Dublin. Edinburgh University has courses on both FutureLearn and Coursera, which means that students in Cuba can access them from FutureLearn but are blocked on Coursera.

Negar, a 30-year-old student in Tehran, said she found out about FutureLearn's courses from BBC News. "I checked the website and signed up for the courses that I was interested in the most," she said. Her courses included a Southampton University course on "Web science" and the University of Reading's "Guide to writing in English for university study". She says that she found the courses very useful - and that there is demand for such international education. "Many people in Iran are interested in courses from a UK university," she said. It's also a way of connecting and swapping ideas with people in other countries. "It is a great opportunity for communicating with people all around the world with different cultures and different experiences. It's easy to share ideas and point of views with the other students," she said. Amin, a 25-year-old industrial engineering graduate from Tehran, is following courses in "Writing in English for university study" produced by the University of Reading and "Study skills for international students" from the University of East Anglia.

On Twitter there are conversations about FutureLearn courses between students in Iran, Nigeria and the UK. "The internet is opening up access to quality, higher education courses at a dizzying rate. More and more people, who otherwise would not have the opportunity, are able to learn from some of the best of universities in the world," said FutureLearn's chief executive, Simon Nelson.

Another major US Mooc provider, edX, has also been trying to overcome the US trade bans. Set up by Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), this not-for-profit body argued that the university courses were "information" rather than a service, and as such should not be affected by the trade ban. So far it says that only one of its courses, In-flight vehicle aerodynamics, has been blocked, because of the concerns over hi-tech information. It argues that in principle there should be no restriction on such educational exchanges.

"This is completely antithetical to the vision and foundational values of edX and all Moocs. We will continue to work diligently with the US government until every student, from any country in the world, can take any course they choose," said Prof Anant Agarwal, president of edX. "We believe that all our courses should be freely available and that it does not make sense to block any courses from embargoed nations," said an edX spokeswoman. "As a matter of policy, edX believes that an educated world is a better world. We believe providing education to people around the world helps promote more just, peaceful and equitable societies. EdX believes that the lack of education can lead to more conflict between nations, not less."

(End of article)

[babur]

[nomad soul]

Rouhani Urges Iran Universities to Open Up, Dismisses Spy Fears
By Reuters | 7 October 2014
Source: http://www.voanews.com/content/reu-iran-rouhani-open-universities/2476041.html

DUBAI—President Hassan Rouhani called on Tuesday for Iran's universities to admit more foreign students and lecturers, dismissing conservatives' fears that more interaction with the outside world would encourage espionage. His remarks at Tehran University appeared to be a fresh riposte to hardliners in the Islamic Republic's faction-ridden political leadership who have been waging a determined campaign against his policies of international engagement.

In a speech marking the start of the academic year broadcast live on state television, Rouhani urged the establishment of a university teaching in English and suggested Iranian academic life had much to gain from more international exposure. "Some people say that if we have contact with the outside world, if our teachers go abroad and their professors come here, maybe someone will be a spy among them. Stop making excuses!" he said to audience applause. "Even if I don't have expertise in anything else, at least your president has expertise in national security," said Rouhani, a relative moderate with a decades-long pedigree in senior government posts, including chief nuclear negotiator with major powers.

Though there is an English-language faculty of world studies at the University of Tehran, there is no university in the Islamic Republic at which classes are entirely in English. Rouhani, who received his PhD from a university in Scotland, called on Iran to interact with the world, not just in the realm of politics, but through economics, science and technology. "Our universities have empty seats in certain subjects. We either have to make them smaller or invite foreign students. "I'm not saying let's start from those places that are scary to some people," he added, in an apparent reference to Western countries generally considered enemies since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. "I mean let's just start with our neighbors." He added: "Let our students go abroad for a term. At least create one university that has English as the main language so that we can attract foreign students."

Although successive Iranian governments have insisted they support free speech and welcome constructive opposition, liberal-minded students and academics have accused the authorities in practice of clamping down on dissent on campuses. Rouhani has repeatedly clashed with conservatives in parliament and other state institutions - including the judiciary and elite Revolutionary Guards - who disagree with his conciliatory rhetoric, liberal approach to intellectual and social life at home and his decision to revive negotiations with the Western powers over Tehran's disputed nuclear program.

Iranian students are allowed to study abroad but many use the opportunity to settle overseas. International educational exchanges involving the Islamic Republic are weighted towards Iranians studying overseas. Foreign students admitted to Iranian campuses tend to focus on religious studies.

Conservative hardliners scored a victory in August when the Iranian parliament sacked Rouhani's science, research and technology minister, the first time the assembly impeached and dismissed a minister since his landslide election in June 2013. Their complaint against Reza Faraji-Dana was that he had allowed students expelled from university over anti-government unrest in 2009 to return to classes.

The unrest was sparked by the re-election of Rouhani's predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Reformist-minded Iranians believed the vote was rigged. Security forces stamped out the protests and the two figureheads of the reformist "green movement" were placed under house arrest, where they remain.

(End of article)