USE_eNET transatlantic e-learning network: follow-up report

Abstract

USE-eNET is a transatlantic complementary activity project funded by the European Commission DG XII Unit 6 and the U.S. Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). The idea for USE-eNET arises from experiences with USE-ME (United States -- Europe Multicultural Alliance in Computer Science and Engineering), a 2001--2004 EC-U.S. transatlantic implementation project, in which a consortium of 3 European (Glasgow, Hamburg, Vienna) and 3 U.S. (Chico, Lincoln, ODU Norfolk) universities aimed to develop an international graduate program in modeling and simulation (M&S). M&S programs pose particular problems because of their widely interdisciplinary nature, with no single disciplinary home in traditional university departments. Furthermore, they depend on a wide range of expertise not normally found on a single university campus. USE-ME concentrated mainly on transatlantic exchanges of students for full semesters. In reviewing the experience with USE-ME the participants recognised that sustaining the program would require other modalities for course delivery and student exchange and interaction. These include the use of innovative e-learning techniques that harness the power of simulation technology to provide on-line team projects that involve students on both sides of the Atlantic. They also realized that the challenge of sustaining the USE-ME program is indicative of a much broader range of problems.