Carmem Rêgo and Ione Morais were, once again, presented to the academic community and the Potiguar society as responsible for managing the Distance Education at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (EaD/UFRN). The new administrative period starts in 2023 and goes until 2027. During the ceremony, which marked the beginning of the new Management of the University’s Central Administration, held last Friday (02), at the Rectory Auditorium of UFRN, the professors talked about the next challenges and recalled those faced in recent years.

According to the Secretary of EaD/UFRN, Carmem Rêgo, technology-mediated education played a relevant role during the covid-19 pandemic. “We had many challenges to enable training for UFRN teachers and servers, as well as educators from the public education network,” she said as she recalled the implementation of Emergency Remote Learning, as an alternative to face-to-face classes, and the extension courses offered through Virtual Learning Environments. “We have a great motivation to continue militating for this teaching modality that makes the democratization of higher education possible, especially for the people who live in the corners of Rio Grande do Norte,” he concluded.

According to the EaD/UFRN Assistant Secretary, Ione Morais, these and other initiatives make the Distance Education Department (SEDIS/UFRN) a reference for other educational institutions in Brazil: “they always come to us, considering not only our pioneering spirit, but the quality of the work we have accomplished at UFRN”, she emphasized. Ione Morais reinforces that the use of technology-mediated education “is not a fad, but an element of contemporary culture, based on digital culture, and we want to continue with the same motivation we had in the first administration”, she emphasizes.

Currently, with the support of the Open University of Brazil Program (UAB), UFRN has five Presential Support Centers in the cities of Nova Cruz, Macau, Caicó, Currais Novos, and Macaíba. In partnership with the municipal governments and the UAB Program, other cities in Rio Grande do Norte are also benefited with EaD graduation courses. The centers are located in the regions of West Potiguar (Luís Gomes, Marcelino Vieira, Martins, and Caraúbas); Costa Branca (Guamaré); Central (Lajes), and Metropolitan Natal (São Gonçalo do Amarante and Parnamirim).

“Distance Education is a very important part of fulfilling the institutional mission, because through distance education the University can reach more people. People who, without the distance learning format, would not be able, for various reasons, to follow the purely face-to-face format,” said the rector José Daniel Diniz Melo, who assumes his second mandate with the expectation of maintaining support for the expansion of this teaching modality.

Bruno Cássio – Media Advisor