Global Virtual University

Under the auspices of the United Nations University (UNU) the Global Virtual University (GVU) is a consortium of universities that work together to enhance learning for environmental sustainability. Through a range of online study programmes and courses offered by partner universities, the mission of GVU is to increase people's sensitivity to and involvement in finding solutions for environment and development issues. The consortium acknowledges the importance of education for development and is particularly designed to meet the educational needs of the developing world.

Online learning (e-learning) forms the basic educational method for all our study programmes and courses. This implies that a substantial part of teaching, collaboration, and supervision take place on the Internet. The pedagogy has a social constructivist approach, which means that group work, online discussions and joint assignments are important. It further implies that an active and regular participation among the students is essential. Students meet their classmates in virtual classrooms, in some cases supported by a face to face session in the beginning of the course.