Finally! A process that started about 7 years ago finally comes to fruition. The subject of merging the two centres of the University into one consolidated centre finally becomes a reality.
The new centre is called Centre for Innovative and Lifelong Learning. From the VCILT's perspective, the merging was always seen to be a reinforcement of the centre's activities related to eLearning development and to achieve the mission of making the University of Mauritius a dual-mode institution as well as the establishment of a modern ICT-based teaching and learning system at the University.
A first attempt was made in 2004 when the former Director, Prof Senteni and Prof Fagoonee, the then Vice-Chancellor, setup the Lifelong Learning Cluster board to act as a virtual faculty giving three university centres namely the CITS, the VCILT and the CPDL the capacity to mount innovative flexible online programmes.
For some well documented reasons, the LLC worked quite well without really gathering the synergy to achieve the mission and vision of the University when the centres were respectively created in 1993 (CPDL) and the VCILT (2001).
Since 2007 or so, when the visionary Prof Fagoonee realised that the two directors were reaching the end of their respective contracts and career, he launched the idea of a merger of both centres to strengthen them into 1 core that will foster a more conducive environment that will reduce the concept of 'turf-wars' - a very common phenomenon in Mauritius (and may be in other countries also).
On one hand one centre wanted to stick to its main strength, that of doing paper-based on-campus and off-campus traditional DE, while the other Centre (VCILT) was always under the pressure to deliver as per its mandate.
As a result the merger never happened. In 2011, the merger was finally approved by Senate but could not pass the Council step. Finally in 2014, the Centres became one as will as from now be known as the Centre for Innovative and Lifelong Learning. It will have one common vision and will work towards a common strategic direction.
The website of the new centre can be accessed here.
