DePaul University: connecting schools with the United Nations. (UN Videoconferencing Programme).

I had attended a faculty demonstration on videoconferencing at DePaul University where I teach, and a few weeks later read an article about the United Nations conducting videoconferences. "I have an idea: we can hold discussions between our students and United Nations ambassadors and officials via videoconferencing." University officials liked my suggestion, so I contacted Ahmad Kamal, former Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, who chairs the UN Working Group on Informatics. He was enthusiastic.

It was 24 October 1997 and I was walking up Michigan Avenue with Ambassador Kamal; actually, we were rushing to an important luncheon. Susanne Dumbleton, Dean of the School for New Learning, hosted the Chicago luncheon, which was attended by, among others, David Levin, Director of the Office of Distance Learning, Barry Keilman, JD, College of Law, and several faculty members. We had agreed that the Ambassador would bring together UN experts to speak with DePaul University students via videoconferencing.

The logistics of connecting our equipment with that of the United Nations was easy, but what would we talk about? How long should a videoconference discussion last? How much time should be allotted to the UN experts and for students' questions? Would the speakers address the exact issues the professor wants? Would the information have academic value? Which students would benefit the most, and how would they react? Would professors give up their teaching time to speak with UN officials?

We decided to try videoconferencing on an experimental basis. Professor Keilman volunteered and proposed setting up the first discussions in his 1998 winter course on international environmental law, which were held in a classroom at our downtown Chicago campus. Videoconferencing has three aspects: planning, equipment and discussion. The Office of Distance Learning staff plans each videoconference, a technician from Classroom Technologies handles the equipment, and the professor and students focus on the discussion.

Our classroom contains the Tandberg videoconference system, which is a fully integrated classroom solution. There are two large television monitors in the front and two in the back of the room, with cameras in between. Two ceiling-mounted speakers and microphones distribute sound and pick up everyone's voice. The podium contains a touch-screen control panel, speakers, microphones, document camera, computer monitor, videotape deck and a standard telephone. The control panel allows the technician to move the camera around, zoom in and switch from the front to the back room camera, and display material on the document camera or from a computer monitor. Each unit contains a codec (coder-decoder) that takes, digitizes and compresses an analog video signal so it can be transmitted over phone lines. The receiving codec uncompresses and changes back the signal, displaying a picture and voice on television. Because digital video and sound streams are so large, they cannot be compressed to travel over a single phone li ne, so we use ISDN phone lines that rely on a public digital phone network. The codec combines ISDN lines into what is called channels and can handle from two- to twelve-channel calls. A six-channel call transmits 384 kilobits per second and gives very good quality at a reasonable price. For a successful discussion to take place, technicians at both ends need to make sure that their equipment is compatible and conduct a test connection at least a week before the actual videoconference.

On 2 February 1998, DePaul University technician Charles Mitchell dialled the United Nations codec, and the UN panel and students were on television in Chicago and at UN Headquarters in New York. Ambassador Kamal, Ambassador George Saliba of Malta, Mark Grey of Australia, Nahel Elmiry of the UN Ocean Affairs and Law of the Sea Division, and James Sniffen of the UN Environment Programme spoke on the topic "Regulating Marine Pollution" with insight and humour, while nervous students asked questions. It was a fabulous beginning! DePaul establishes the first university videoconference with the United Nations. The next seven weekly discussions went extremely well.

Evaluations from the students and Professor Kellman were encouraging--all voted to continue. The dialogue with UN ambassadors and senior officials provided new information and insights not available in textbooks or online. Ambassador Kamal and guest speakers addressed specific topics, and by the third discussion, students were comfortable with the format. They agreed that "by speaking with ambassadors from different countries and UN officials, we get valuable information and a broader perspective--we have to think outside our United States mindset." Professor Kellman found student interaction with UN protocol valuable.

In the spring of 1998, I was teaching a course on international trade at the School for New Learning and decided to hold four 90-minute videoconference discussions--half of the three-hour class time. On 5 May, we connected to the United Nations with Ambassador Makarim Wibisono of Indonesia, who chaired the discussion on "the role of the United Nations in international trade". The UN panel was lively and the students asked great questions. We videotaped each session, took pictures and I created a small web site. It was a huge success!

Each week, the students paid careful attention to the discussions and enjoyed it when UN experts had friendly disagreements, which were frequently staged to stimulate debate. Ambassador Kamal encouraged frank discussions from the ambassadors and UN officials. The students were at first intimidated and nervous about speaking with UN experts, but by the third session they were relaxed, comfortable and talkative. Everyone in the class was enthusiastic: I love the different perspectives; things I would never think of. I never realized that the United Nations sets world standards for everything--from shipping to international mail, to modem protocols to satellites in space. How countries collaborate through UN organizations and treaties is something I had never thought about. I just took it all for granted. I love their humour."

The international UN experts provided enthusiasm, valuable information and humour. My only concern was that the students sometimes did not have enough time for their questions--and, in fact, they had more questions each week.

Which students would benefit most from speaking with senior UN officials? What could we do to improve the discussions? We decided to hold discussions again for several classes in the fall--four videoconferences with four different faculty and classes: freshmen, juniors, mixed undergraduates and full-time MBA students. Each videotaped session lasted for 90 minutes. Ambassador Kamal requested a course description, discussion topic and five or six questions to be addressed, and each professor gave this information. It was essential that students be prepared for the videoconference procedure and topic, so I spoke to each class a week before, explaining the equipment and procedure, and each professor presented the discussion topic. This proved successful and has become our standard procedure. James Moore, a graduate computer science student and web master for the Office of Distance Learning, created a web site (http:/www.lifelearn.depaul.edu/un) for the UN videoconferencing programme and posted photos for each ses sion.

There is agreement that those who will benefit most from videoconferencing with UN experts are MBA and SNL students, because they are working adults who bring their professional job experience to the discussion and can apply the skills and information to their careers. We hold two to five videoconferences each quarter, with topics ranging from the World Trade Organization, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Southeast Asian financial crisis, technology in Africa, to the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks.

Ms. Dumbleton invited Ambassador Kamal to co-teach with me a course on the United Nations and international corporations in the spring of 1999. We worked out the discussion topics and he brought in guest speakers, assigned homework and graded term papers. He created the Ambassador's Club at the United Nations as a non-profit organization to organize the programme at his end. In the spring of 2000, he was teaching a similar course part-time at the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business MBA programme.

February 2003 marked the fifth anniversary of our wonderful collaboration with Mr. Kamal and the Ambassador's Club. A couple of thousand DePaul students have spoken with dozens of UN ambassadors and officials, videotapes have been played in other classes, articles have appeared in our school newspapers, and thousands of people have heard about the discussions. Our web site has received thousands of hits from all over the world, and we have presented our UN videoconference programme and video clips at technology conferences.

DePaul University supports a dialogue with the Ambassador's Club because its mission is in harmony with the UN Charter and the work of the United Nations. The University follows a mission of academic excellence, service to the community, access to education and respect for the individual. We strive to create opportunities for the disadvantaged and disenfranchised in society. Through our courses, centres, institutes, numerous conferences, forums and events, we support UN values of social justice, "faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and work of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women", and "promote social progress and better standards of life for all people". Our students are taking the information, skills, human values and concern for people and the planet, as promoted by UN dignitaries, into their personal lives and workplaces.

DePaul University was founded in 1898 by the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians) Catholic Religious Community. With 23,227 students today, it is the largest Catholic university and the eighth largest not-for-profit private university in the United States. It has nine colleges, with classes at eight campuses in and around Chicago, plus the School for New Learning and MBA programmes in Hong Kong, Bahrain and the Czech Republic.

The part-time MBA programme at the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business is ranked fourth, placing it among the nation's top ten by U.S. News & World Report for eight consecutive years. The School for New Learning, accredited to the UN Department of Public In formation since March 1997, awards the BA degree to adults and has been named one of six "Best Practice" Adult Learner Focused Institutions in North America. In addition to the videoconferences, it supports an active Model UN programme, study-travel courses to the annual DPI/NGO Conference, and trips to UN offices in Geneva.

Patricia A. Szczerba is Manager of the United Nations Videoconference Program, Office of Distance Learning and Visiting Faculty School for New Learning, at DePaul University (Chicago, USA), where she has been teaching since 1996. She is a senior editor and writer for The New York Times Almanac, addressing such global issues as health, population, the United Nations and other related topics.