The Master’s degree is a Distance Education programme. The online Moodle platform used by the University is designed to achieve the best learning outcomes for students. The platform’s capabilities for synchronous and asynchronous Distance Education allows students to easily become familiar with its use and choose the mode that best suits them in a flexible and personalized learning nature.

The University of Limassol has a team that manages distance learning at the university. The aim of the team is to ensure high quality education and to maintain a dynamic, flexible and inclusive learning environment https://www.uol.ac.cy/el/monada-ex-apostaseos-ekpaidefsis/.

The Distance Education and New Technologies postgraduate programme is based on the pedagogical model of structured pedagogy of e-learning and is enriched with the philosophy and pedagogical foundations of Open and Distance Education. The course structure and the related tools offer students flexibility in their personalised and self-regulated path to knowledge throughout their studies at the University.

The central pillars of the pedagogical and methodological approach are:

Α. A combination of videoconferencing, learning by doing, learning by , learning by case-based learning and learning by exploring.

Β. Empirical learning through the linking of learning objectives to students’ real-life experiences.

C. Social constructivism, situated learning and learning communities are used.

D. Creative learning is exploited. In this context, numerous techniques for enhancing lateral thinking are proposed, which, with appropriate adaptation, are applied to online learning and used by teachers on a case-by-case basis, in relation to the subject matter and the target group.The pedagogical model used enables students to have access to material that has been offered and posted on the electronic platform and has been discussed with the Teacher-Advisor in the modern distance communication (teleconference) in the course. At the same time, in addition to the material and teleconferences, students have the opportunity participate in interactive learning initiatives and to participate as members of the academic community of the University.

The conduct of students’ practical training, as an educational activity of the MSc, may be conducted remotely, if the host institutions support the teleworking method and the supervision of the practical training is ensured.

In any case, the training process may be carried out using modern distance learning methods in the following cases:

i. in cases of force majeure or exceptional circumstances, where it is not possible to conduct educational process in person or to use the infrastructure of the University of West Attica for the conduct of its educational, research and other activities,

ii. organisation of immersion courses and tutorial exercises, in addition to the compulsory teaching hours per course.

The organisation of the educational process using distance learning methods ensures accessibility for people with disabilities and special educational needs.

The guide to distance teaching of the D.P.M.S. regulates the specific terms and conditions regarding the organization of the educational process with distance education methods of the D.P.M.S. and in particular [according to the common ministerial decision (B΄ 1079) under 18137/Z1/15.2.2023] the following issues:

(a) issues relating to access to the integrated e-learning system, the user accreditation procedure and access rights per user category (lecturer, student, supervisor, technical and other staff),

b) issues related to the technological infrastructure of the P.D.A., the technical support, maintenance and upgrading of the infrastructure and technologies to support the distance learning process, as well as the obligations of each user,

c) the process of educational support for students,

d) the pedagogical framework for the design and implementation of courses and other educational activities using distance learning methods and student assessment,

e) the procedure for the evaluation and upgrading of the digital skills of the teaching staff participating in distance learning programmes,

(f) the process of checking operations for plagiarism through trusted applications,

(g) the policy for the protection of personal data and compliance with the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation and Law No. 4624/2019,

(h) the information systems security policy targeting the development of e-learning systems,

(i) the information privacy and cybersecurity management policy,

(j) the criteria for the periodic internal evaluation of distance learning postgraduate programmes,

(k) the procedure for the registration of students in the student register of the UAS,

(l) any other issue related to the organisation of the MSc in distance education methods.