In April 2001, the vision of a group of college students from Abu Dhabi came to life as delegates from around the world arrived for the inaugural E-ducation Without Borders (EWB), International Student Conference. This first of its kind three-day international conference, sponsored by the Higher Colleges of Technology, was distinctly “by students for students. It was the first conference in the HCT’s successful Education Without Borders conference series, which continue to run biennially.
From the outset, the 2001 conference was a real-life project through which post-secondary students received first-hand experience in organising complex events while simultaneously learning and engaging others about a topic on the tip of nearly every educator’s tongue: the impact of e-learning on the global educational community. E-ducation Without Borders 2001 was an event of historical significance, and served as a laboratory for the effective learning experience.