Top Universities in Europe Create Collaborative eLearning Network; Docent to Power EuroPACE's Network in 36 European Universities.

Business Editors

UTRECHT, The Netherlands--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 2, 2001

Docent Inc. (NASDAQ: DCNT) has announced that EuroPACE, a network of top European universities, has selected Docent(TM) Enterprise to power its Internet-based eLearning and knowledge exchange service. The new eLearning service, called EPYC, is now available to students across Europe, offering courses in subjects stretching across the sciences, arts and humanities. The agreement between EuroPACE and Docent offers online learning tailored to the needs of European business, undergraduate students, post-graduates and professionals, in an effort to bridge the skills gap that exists in many European industries.

A recent IDC report estimates the European eLearning market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 96%, up to $4 billion by 2004. Europe's training market is experiencing accelerated growth due to the region's need to provide a broad range of training to a geographically dispersed workforce at a lower cost, according to the IDC report.

The 48-strong EuroPACE network includes some of Europe's most respected universities in countries such as Denmark, The Netherlands, Belgium, France and the United Kingdom. The network also embraces 12 industry and business partners across several key sectors, including telecommunications, civil engineering and aviation. The deal with Docent will also allow EuroPACE to offer support and advice to partner universities and companies on how they can get the best from the service for their students and employees. Universities that want to develop their own eLearning-based course modules and knowledge exchange will also be able to license the Docent technology from EuroPACE as well as benefit from its expertise on development and implementation of an eLearning solution.

Undergraduate students can take advantage of EPYC courses built onto the Docent platform to complement existing traditional teaching methods such as lectures, tutorials, classroom and self-study. Docent's technology means that EPYC can give students access to a virtual Web-based university campus. Therefore students of any EuroPACE member organisation can access the campus wherever and whenever they need to.

The service will also be a very attractive offering for post-graduates and professionals who want to retrain and refresh their knowledge, but do not have the time to travel in order to participate in classroom-based courses. With EPYC, they are offered the convenience and flexibility of having access to university courses via an Internet-based and an eLearning and knowledge exchange network, so that students can learn and retrain at a time and a location that fits into their schedule.

For industries across Europe, the EPYC service offers career-driven vocational training modules tailor-made to meet the demands of the diverse European job market. The training packages and course modules will target industries that require that their employees undergo frequent retraining if they are to keep up with rapidly evolving markets, products and technologies.

"Learning doesn't stop at 21, nor does it need to stop outside the traditional campus environment," said Maarten de Groodt, general manager of Docent Europe. "We are very excited to see EuroPACE using our technology to offer Europe's leading education and vocational training establishments the tools that will provide their students with easier access and more flexible opportunities for education, training and skills development. This is an very progressive and innovative service and it demonstrates where learning and training will go in the future."

EuroPACE will use Docent Enterprise to enable students to use any standard Web browser to:

-- plan and select learning programmes based on personal learning styles and
needs

-- provide self-service, online registration for all types of learning events
including self-paced courses, virtual classroom courses, dialogues with tutors
and traditional classroom-based learning

-- assess and certify knowledge and performance

-- ensure that learning objectives are met

Professor Dr. Georges Van der Perre of the University of Leuven, Belgium, president of EuroPACE said: "EPYC has the potential to revolutionise the future of higher education and adult learning in European universities by combining traditional and distance eLearning. Universities need start making use of today's technologies to enhance their offering for students. We chose Docent's eLearning software platform because of its ease of use, flexibility and scalability. Using Docent, EuroPACE enables its partners to focus on building courseware because we do the job of delivering easy-to-use and flexible eLearning environments in which to publish those courses. "

About EuroPACE

EuroPACE is a Trans-European network of universities, enterprises and organisations with an interest in the field of distance and continuing education and training. Members of EuroPACE co-operate to demonstrate and develop the potential of telematics for the European university of the future. To find out more about EuroPACE, its members and activities, please visit www.europace.be and epyc.europace.be or call [phone].

About Docent, Inc.

Docent, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCNT) is a premier provider of eLearning infrastructure and services for the enterprise and beyond. Our complete, integrated solutions increase revenue, cut costs, and build competitive advantage. Docent Enterprise, our award-winning Internet-based software platform for knowledge exchange, provides a complete infrastructure for developing, delivering, managing, and measuring eLearning for employees, customers, partners, and professional communities.

Docent is headquartered in Mountain View, California, with other offices throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia-Pacific. For more information, visit us at www.docent.com, or call [phone].

This press release contains forward-looking statements including statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. They are not historical facts or guarantees of future performance or events. They are based on current expectations, estimates, beliefs, assumptions and goals and objectives, and are subject to uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Often such statements can be identified by their use of words such as will, intends, expects, plans, believes anticipates, expects, and estimates. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, whether the programme of action will be successfully deployed with EuroPACE, whether the students at EuroPACE will be able to use the eLearning infrastructure easily and effectively and whether the pilot project will be successful in forming the foundation for broader deployment. All forward-looking statements included in this release are based upon information known to Docent, Inc. as of the date of this release, and Docent, Inc. assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future results and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from the results expressed or implied by this statements. Factors which could contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, the ability of Docent and EuroPACE to develop the eLearning infrastructure to meet the parties' specifications, and the receptiveness of the students to eLearning.

Docent and Docent Enterprise are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Docent, Inc. All other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.