The main objective of this project is to create a sustainable capacity building programme in environmental management and modelling, and to improve the quality and accessibility of higher education in Iran and Iraq.Geographical information systems (GIS, remote sensing (RS) are key techniques to be included in the thirteen courses to be developed and implemented, and eLearning is the form of the courses.eLearning courses based on identified needs and the labour market will benefit society in terms of accessibility and quality. The management of higher education will improve through the development and use of student-teacher-admin communication and reporting tools. Our consortium of 8 university partners builds on extensive experience and continuing cooperation. However, 3 out of 4 non-EU partners have not previously received EU capacity building support.Iran and Iraq are countries where our consortium can make a significant impact, by enhancing political, cultural, educational, and economic links between the EU and the region, as well as by disseminating EU social and democratic values. This partnership is uniquely positioned to maximize the opportunities for, and delivery of, successful capacity building. The specific objective of the project is to improve the level of competences and skills of HEIs in the region by developing, adapting, and delivering state of the art eLearning courses focusing on environmental modelling and climate change/food security. The extensive alumni and contact network of our partners ensures that the demand for, and relevance and quality of, graduates and courses will be properly evaluated. Staff training will be part of course development, including skills in geo-information science and earth observation, providing added value in finding solutions to climate change and food security challenges.The course material to be developed will build upon existing courses used by the EU-partners, modified to meet the requirements (academically as well as pedagogically) of the Partner Countries. An additional output of the project will be 13 highly relevant courses/modules (all together 112.5 ECTS) to be used by the project partners.

The educational system in Iraq and Iran is facing many challenges such as lack of professional skills and competencies of teachers, weakness of methods and applications, inadequate access to technology, lack of sufficient knowledge and ability to exploit technology. PC universities have overcome these challenges.The aim of OPATEL consists in establishing and developing a center in IR&IQ unis to train staff and students by using an Online Platform for TEaching and learning to be as a hub for using best practices of ICT in education, as well as raising competencies of lecturers and teachers by enhancing learning processes of students.Wider Objectives:- Establishing a well-equipped center for E-Learning in partner unis- Transfer of EU-Experience in areas of ICT, skills development and merge new generations in this experience.- Training and following up with staff and students on how to develop, share learning objects, and collaborate their courses, presentations and exercises on online platforms.- Improving quality of teaching and learning by building the capacity of universities how to evaluate, develop and design e-courses.- Enhancing cooperation with EU partners through mutual visits to develop strategies how to move from teaching to learning and develop scalable sustainable solutions.The use of Online Platform will steer the education in the right direction. Training of staff to enhance and develop their abilities, solving the problems of ICT use in education and creating and publishing common methodology and documentation for lifelong learning, E-learning and training for IR&IQ in accordance with EU-Standards. 3 languages will be used in the project: Arabic, Persian and English. Many factors will be used for dissemination and success of OPATEL such as press and media; presenting progress using websites; participation of staff and students, participation of ministries of high educations and other HEIs.