Directorate for European Integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina (DEI) recently launched its 8th e-learning module on European Integration. The DEI’s Spokesperson, Marina Kavaz-Sirucic, answered some of our questions about the programme achievements so far and about plans for this type of education.

How did the idea of such a model of education develop and to whom it is primarily intended for?

Among other things, we train civil servants at all levels and help to improve their skills in the area of European integration. The need for more knowledge in this area among public administration officials is high while training resources remain limited, especially in local administration. Due to budget savings, the inability for everyone who expresses an interest to attend and because such seminars often requires many days commitment, we decided to take advantage of the latest technology to enable public servants to ‘attend’ e-learning modules when it best suits them. While this form of education does not pretend to fully replace the conventional methods of training, it will include many more participants and also create significant savings. E-learning modules on our website makes BiH the first country in the region to have enabled civil servants to learn about the European integration process in this way.

Would this type of education be useful for someone other than government officers and is it possible forsay, journalists, students and the general public to be able to access the programme?

The primary users of the e-learning module are civil servants at all levels of government. However, anyone outside of the state administration who has addressed us in order to obtain information to use the module will have access. In promoting the eighth module, in July this year, journalists were given two month use of the module. In addition, in co-operation with the German Organization for International Cooperation (GIZ), we plan in the autumn to produce e-learning applications for mobile phone devices, which will then be made available to the general public.

What issues are covered in this module and how was the content developed?

The title of this module is ‘Accession to the EU’. It consists of four parts: I) The stages of accession to the EU, II) Financial support instruments, III) Regional experiences and IV) BiH’s obligations in this process. The module is 66 minutes long, and each section includes a knowledge test. The previous seven modules concerned the basics of EU integration, pre-accession assistance, EU programming, project cycle management and the preparation of project proposals. The content is created entirely on the basis of factual information contained in documents, statements and policies from the EU and BiH. The selection of topics is a process of integrating the areas of greatest interest to government, and those areas of interest to civil servants.

This is the 8th E-learning module of the Directorate of European integration. Who are the main users of the programme and what feedback have you received from the earlier modules?

The most frequent users are civil servants who require a certain level of knowledge about the EU integration process. According to our data, from 1 July 2011 to 1 July 2013, there have been some 21,454 recorded visits to the e-learning modules, and 2,415 participants of one or more of the modules. This method of learning is particularly important for officials in local administration who due to their geographical distance from administrative centres and chronic lack of funds for training now have the opportunity to participate to a greater extent in common forms of training.

Do you plan to continue with this programme and is there interest from other institutions in BiH to start using this method of teaching for other employees as well as the general public?

We plan to continue upgrading the modules. The first one will focus on the new generation of pre-accession assistance (IPA II). We expect that this module will also be implemented in co-operation with GIZ. We are proud of the e-learning modules because they are more than just an innovative solution to the issue of providing tailored training to the widest number, but also because it has inspired other public institutions to do the same. For example, we were told that the BiH Civil Service Agency plans to offer e-learning as a method of learning.