Keio conducts Net learning program for 6 Asian countries.

TOKYO, July 30 Kyodo

Keio University said Tuesday some 250 college students and researchers in Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam have completed a monthlong distance learning program it offered over the Internet.

The program was conducted using a two-way satellite network and was aimed at fostering information technology (IT) skills in Asia, the private university said.

A total of eight lectures were given between June 18 and July 18 on subjects such as international relations, geo-informatics and digital Asia, IT strategy in Japan, and businesses in a networked environment, according to Keiko Okawa, an assistant professor at the Keio Graduate School of Media and Governance in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture.

The university conducted a ceremony over the Net on Tuesday to award certificates marking completion of the program to 84 students who attended the lectures and submitted assignments, she said.

In the ceremony, the university's professors in the Shonan-Fujisawa Campus read aloud certificates awarded to students in Indonesia's Brawijaya University and several other locations that were hooked up with the campus by the Net.

The certificates were earlier delivered to the participating Asian universities via an express courier service, Okawa said.

A total of 10 universities and one research institute took part in the program. They include the National University of Laos, Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, the University of Computer Studies in Yangon and the Institute of Information Technology in Hanoi.