Remote learning via satellite in Italy
The Basilicata region in southern Italy is allocating nearly a million euros for ESA’s eLearning project using satcoms.
The Open Network for Education is providing satcom-based eLearning to children living in small and isolated municipalities.
Videoconferencing allows small groups of children to participate in learning activities coordinated by a distant teacher, while educational materials are available from the cloud. In addition, it can help children in two hospitals in the region.
The project is co-funded by ESA’s ARTES Applications programme and Openet Technologies in Matera, Italy and has now received an additional commitment from the region using the system in seven schools with 53 classes.
The Basilicata region will initially pay €340 000 for the current academic year as part of the pilot project. After the ESA support ends, they will pay €567 000 to cover the first two years of running the service.
“We are proceeding at a fast pace to bring broadband to all of our 131 municipalities,” said Marcello Pittella, President of the Basilicata Region. “Coverage is already well advanced. We’d like to see our regional school system reflect the best European practices.”
“It is an impressive vote of confidence that Region Basilicata has decided to allocate these funds before the ESA-supported activity has ended,” says ESA’s Francesco Feliciani, Head of the Commercial Applications Projects Section. “This is a great achievement for the project.”
For further information, please contact:
Margherita Buoso
ESA Communication Officer for Telecommunications and Integrated Applications
Tel: +44 1235 444 293
Mob: +44 7557 503578
Email: margherita.buoso@esa.int
