This document outlines a research project exploring how a university in Bangladesh is becoming digitalized. The project will investigate novel ways that students can learn through information and communication technologies (ICT), as well as novel ways of administering the university digitally. In 2011, workshops and interviews will generate ideas, while 2012 will focus on supporting identified ideas. The scope depends on funding, but resources include time from Aalborg University and the University of Dhaka as well as pending applications. The goal is to understand how digitalization policies impact higher education in Bangladesh and identify best practices.

1. ePolicy In Practice
- How is a University in Bangladesh Becoming Digital?
- By Dr. Pär-Ola Zander
- Department Of Communication and Psychology
Aalborg University, Denmark

2. Background for ePolicyInPractice
— May 2011, Aalborg University & signed a MoU with
University of Dhaka
— This project is deepening this partnership further
— I will present an overview of what we plan to do

3. Research Idea - Domain
— A lot of efforts are put into Digital Bangladesh,
vision 2021
— Implementation
— Evaluation
— Yet no one knows the effects of Digital Bangladesh
on the institutional level in higher education
— Therein lies our contribution
— Broad approach: Neither research on hardware, nor
software, nor humans, but their interaction

4. ePolicyInPractice
— Discover and document
novel ways for students
to learn through ICT
Developed University
— Discover novel ways of
administrating
university through ICT
An exploration of the mechanisms of digitalization
- How is the policy ‘felt’?
- What can be generalized to other universities?

5. e-Didactics and PBL
— Teacher and student-driven innovation (user-driven
innovation)
— How?
— Course design workshops and needs analysis
— Explore “post-lecture” approaches in Bangladesh
— Infuse well-tried “western” practices to these lead
users
— Not “best practice”, but “best inspiration”

6. E-Infrastructure
— Infrastructure
— Communications
— Case processing (Booking resources, promotion,
travel expenses…)
— Computerization of infrastructure is possible!
— Strictly technically. No problem.
— Challenge: Change mindsets, find smart workflows

7. Infrastructure

8. Researching Infrastructure
— Why?
— Teaching is not independent from its infrastructure
— Signal? How are teachers’ motivations to adopt ICT
affected by the state of administration?
— Agility: Changes in curriculum, teaching forms
— The interesting question is not if this must change
— What happens when it is changed?
— Systematize local knowledge
— Investigate by participatory scenario creation and
need analysis

9. Future
— 2011, The forthcoming days:
— Workshops, interviews, observations
— Generating motivation
— 2012: Workshops on how the identified ideas can be supported and realized
— Scope of project depends on financial situation
— Money currently bottleneck.
Resources
— AAU resources (time)
— DU resources (time & facilities)
— Pending funding applications (DFID, DANIDA, EU)