• collaborative approaches using ICTs to link learning, innovation and work,
• integration of ICTs in lifelong learning and professional development.
• ICT for Development (ICT4D),

Pr. Senteni is the initiator and the programme chair of the International Conference on Open and Online Learning (ICOOL), whose first issue was held in Mauritius in 2003, and the second one in the context of the 8th IFIP WCCE in Stellenbosch (SA) in July 2005.

In this capacity, he is responsible for providing leadership and overall management for the Communication and Information Sector which includes strategic planning, resource management and effective implementation of programmes at national, regional and international levels. The programmes of the CI Sector focus on promoting equitable access to information and knowledge; promoting freedom of expression, democracy and peace; and strengthening communication and information capacities, especially in developing countries. He is also responsible for coordinating UNESCO’s contribution to the UN ICT Task Force, the World Summit on the Information Society, and other international mechanisms.

Professor Khan served as Vice-Chancellor (President and Chief Executive Officer) at the Indira Gandhi National Open University (one of the largest universities in the world, with the enrolment of over one million students) from 1998 to 2000. This university is a leader in the use of communication and information technologies in distance education. In particular, he was responsible for developing a long-term vision, strategic planning, resource mobilization and management of a knowledge network. He was also Chairman of the Distance Education Council which is responsible for coordinating all open and distance learning programmes in India.

Professor Khan has extensive international experience in designing, planning and managing communication and information technology applications in education, sciences and culture.

During his career Professor Khan has provided consultancy services to a number of international agencies such as the Asia Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Bangkok (Thailand), the Asian Productivity Organisation in Tokyo, the World Bank in Washington (USA), and the Asian Development Bank in Manila (Philippines).

From 1986 to 1992 Professor Khan served as the Founding Director and Professor of the Communications Division of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) in New Delhi, where he developed and managed one of the largest state of the art electronic media centres in Asia. He subsequently joined the Commonwealth of Learning (COL in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, firstly as Senior Programme Officer (1992 1995) then as Acting Head of the Communications and Information Technologies Division (1995 1996). Subsequently, he was Principal Communications Specialist (1996 1998) and Director of Training and Development (2000-2001). Professor Khan served as a Visiting Professor/Scientist (1990 1991) at the National Institute of Multimedia Education (NIME) in Chiba, Japan.

Retained as Communications Consultant by the United Nations Fund for Population Activities in Bangladesh in 1979, he developed strategic initiatives for the integration of population education in agricultural extension until 1981. He then joined the UNESCO in Dhaka where he worked as a Communications Specialist (1981 1984), before moving to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) as an Expert in Communication and Population Education (1984 1986) stationed in Kathmandu and Rome.

From 1973 to 1975 Professor Khan held the position of Associate Director of the Agricultural Communication Centre at the G B Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, India, where he worked on the development of a modern multi media centre for the communication of agricultural innovations to farmers. In October 1975, he became Director at the All India Radio (AIR) in New Delhi where he headed a national broadcasting network for the dissemination of innovations in agriculture and rural development and also pioneered "Farm School on the Air", a programme for the training of farmers through distance education.

Professor Khan has actively contributed to the boards of various national and international bodies including the ISS INFOTECH Ltd, India, IDS International, Thailand, WETV Foundation, Canada and the United States Educational Foundation (USEFI), India. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT), Ottawa (Canada) and is a member of the International Advisory Board of the Wawasan Education Foundation (Malaysia). He has served as Chairperson of the Distance Education Council, Vice President of the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) and as President of the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU). He has been a member of a number of professional associations including the International Institute of Communications of the United Kingdom.

He is also the recipient of several awards and distinctions such as the "Distinguished Service Award", Commonwealth of Learning, as well as the "India 2000 Millennium Award for Education and World Peace" and “Super Brain of India Gold Award 2000”. He was awarded a Commonwealth of Learning Fellowship in 1989 and in January 2005, he became an honorary Doctor of Science, awarded by the Jamia Hamdard University in New Delhi (India).

Professor Khan is the author of a number of books and articles published in various academic journals, especially on development communication, distance education and multi-media technology applications. He has delivered keynote note addresses at many international conferences.

Born in 1947 of Indian nationality, Professor Abdul Waheed Khan holds a Ph.D. in Mass Communication (1973) and a Masters in Agricultural Journalism (1970) from the University of Wisconsin, Madison (USA), and a Masters in Agricultural Extension (1965) from Agra University (India).

• Mike Aston, Ritva Engeström, Daniel Schneider & Alain Taurisson