Abstract:

As human population swells and resources shrink, efforts towards optimizing resources for equitable distribution grow. This phenomenon of sharing education on a global basis is already widely practiced in many parts of the world and is being examined by the rich and the poor institutions alike. Developments in information and communication technologies (ICT or telematics) have opened new opportunities for all types of learners irrespective of age, sex, class and so on to receive education from various institutions situated far off. Traditional institutions no longer remain the sole agencies of academic transaction. Telematics has liberated the teachers and the learners alike. We already have providers and recipients of education from far off places dissolving territorial boundaries. Providing education internationally requires serious efforts and addressing some genuine concerns. Highly populated countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh are likely targets of most of such international collaborations because the number of students seeking educational opportunities is usually quite high, so financial returns are also high. Education in collaborative mode is primarily suited to the distance mode perhaps because within an already available structure or edifice, direct human interaction is minimal here. This paper is an attempt to explore the variety of areas and methods that can be made use of for a variety of goals to collaborate for input, processes and output. These, however, need to be visualised against the limitations or shortcomings that are likely to emanate from the practice of such collaborations. The paper tries to articulate some of these as well.