The International Telematic University UNINETTUNO, established by the decree of the 15th April 2005 of the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research, delivers academic titles having a legal value in Italy, Europe and in the Mediterranean Countries, for first-cycle (bachelor) degrees, specialization degrees (master), doctor’s degrees and master’s degrees. In the International Telematic University, UNINETTUNO distinguished lecturers of important universities worldwide deliver their courses in the Internet-based real and virtual spaces in Italian, Arabic, English and French.
A dream that has come true: with the UNINETTUNO you can attend your University from wherever you are with no more limits of space and time.
History
UNINETTUNO takes origin from the training model of NETTUNO - Network per l’Università Ovunque, a consortium of 43 Italian and foreign universities with which, since 1992, thousands of Italian and foreign students obtained a distance university degree thanks to television and the Internet. At present, many of these universities put at UNINETTUNO’s disposal physical facilities such as laboratories for conducting research work and training activities, libraries, halls equipped with PCs and classrooms to organize face-to-face exams sessions for the students. UNINETTUNO takes origin also from the international success of Med Net’U (Mediterranean Network of Universities) Project, funded by the European Commission in the framework of the EUMEDIS Programme, aimed at realizing a Euro-Mediterranean Distance University.
With Med Net’U it was established a network of 31 universities of 11 countries of the Euro-Mediterranean Area (Algeria, Egypt, France, Jordan, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey). The development of Med Net’U from project to the system was supported by the Governments of the partner countries. Actually, on the 29th January 2006, in the framework of the Catania 3 Conference for the realisation of a “Euro-Mediterranean Area of Higher Education and Research”, 14 Ministers of Higher Education of several Mediterranean countries, undersigned a joint declaration by which they stated their goal of strengthening the distance learning system of the Mediterranean countries, by expanding the results attained through the Med Net’U Project.
The strength and the process of growth of UNINETTUNO are unquestionably represented by the fact that it rapidly succeeded in acquiring a significant role at international level by concluding agreements with the countries of Europe, the United States, Latin America, China, Russia, Georgia and Iraq. Very important agreements were undersigned with countries of the Mediterranean area, in particular with Egypt, Morocco, Syria and Tunisia.
Network structure
International Coordination Centre
UNINETTUNO’s organizational structure appears as “network” structure: a Coordination Centre and Technological Poles and Production Centres, located on the national and international territories, interconnected by computer-based networks and also through transmitting and receiving satellite dishes. At present, UNINETTUNO can rely on the Technological Poles already set up in Italy as well as on the facilities and technologies of 31 Technological Poles and 9 Production centers, set up at the universities’ campuses and vocational training centers of the Med Net’U Project partners and based in 11 countries of the Euro-Mediterranean area.
Technological Poles
They are training structures equipped with new information and communication technologies (ICTs) dislocated on the national and international territories which make available to the students all the technologies they need to follow the courses by distance mode, participate in the training activities by video conferencing and take the exams.
Production Centres
They are structures supplied with all the equipment needed to produce Internet-based multimedia educational contents, available on the didactic portal, which is the first distance teaching portal in the world that was realized in four languages (Arabic, English, French and Italian).
Faculties
Faculties have institutional tasks envisaged by the Statute and promote the development of research programmes.
Degree Courses
Degree courses have the task of defining the Study Programme, the modes for carrying on practice exercises and exams, the quality assessment of the educational materials realised by the Production Centres located on the national and international territories; the coordination of the tutoring activities, the quality assessment of all educational services delivered by means of the new technologies.
How to study
There is a dedicated area: the Didactic Cyberspace, where teaching and learning take place in five languages: Italian, Arabic, English, French and Greek. The Internet-based learning environment transfers directly to the student’s desk: lessons, multimedia products, databases, exercises, evaluation and self-evaluation systems, online tutoring, forums, chats, thematic wikis.
Learning environment
In the Appointed Teaching Professor’s Page and the Tutor’s Page are included the Learning Environments where you can find the Educational Materials that represent the course contents:
Video Library
The digitized video lessons are the starting-point of the learning process. Each digitized video lesson is structured into several issues and is indexed in order to enable the student to follow the whole video lesson or to select the issue he wants to study more depth. Each subject is linked in a hypertextual and multimedia way to essays, books, exercise texts, virtual libraries, lists of websites (links to websites related to the subject that were selected by the professors and tutors).
Online exercises
This section includes online interactive exercises linked to the topics treated in the video lessons.
Virtual laboratory
It is an environment in which the student integrates theory with practice through a “learning-by-doing” process.
Teaching staff
As already provided for by art. 15 of the Statute and as stated in the University General Regulations, approved my MIUR on the 16th March 2013, in CHAPTER III “Didactics and Teaching Body”, art. 17 “Teaching Body and Researchers”, paragraph 3 and following ones:
“The teaching staff, referred to in article 15 of the Statute, who carries on didactic and research functions in accordance with the course delivery models of the Telematic Universities through telematics and satellite networks (Internet, television and video conferencing systems) is divided according to the following typologies”:
- Area Professors, who coordinate the didactic activities for each subject Area
- Professors authors of the contents, who realize the video lessons and design contents and the materials to be included in the learning environments of the didactic portal;
- Tutors, who check the students’ learning progress using the technologies.