Message from the Director
The Regional Training and Research Institute for Distance and Open Learning (RETRIDOL) is committed to capacity building and research in open, distance, and eLearning (ODeL) within the West African sub-region and beyond. The Institute is hosted by the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) and works in collaboration with its international partner, the Commonwealth of Learning (COL).
Since its establishment, RETRIDOL has played a consistent role in strengthening professional capacity in the flexible, distance, and eLearning sector. The Institute delivers training through online, face-to-face, and hybrid formats, and also supports the development of academic programmes, short courses, and research activities. These initiatives serve NOUN as well as other single-mode and dual-mode universities and distance learning institutions across the region.
RETRIDOL’s activities are supported by a dedicated faculty and a strong network of experienced ODeL practitioners and experts. This combination enables the Institute to design and deliver programmes that are practical, relevant, and responsive to the realities of ODeL practice within different institutional and regional contexts.
Research is a central part of RETRIDOL’s work. The Institute promotes scholarly inquiry through the West African Journal of Open, Flexible, and eLearning (WAJOFEL), the only open-access journal focused specifically on open, flexible, distance, and eLearning in the West African sub-region. In addition, the RETRIDOL ODL Discourse Series provides a regular platform for knowledge sharing, professional dialogue, and engagement among researchers and practitioners from different parts of the world, with a focus on practical and context-sensitive solutions.
Looking ahead, RETRIDOL will continue to make thoughtful use of emerging technologies to broaden the reach and strengthen the impact of its training and research activities, while maintaining a clear focus on quality and relevance.
I invite you to explore our website to learn more about our programmes and ongoing activities.
What We Do
Research
The institute is mandated to initiate, carry out and support research in all areas of open and distance learning and its ancillary fields. While the institute facilitates research into open and distance learning as a field enquiry, it is also involved in promoting discipline-based researches which have implications for open and distance learning. The institute is also required to provide opportunities for the dissemination of research outcomes through is dedicated website, newsletter and regular journal
Programmes
The institute has the mandate to plan and implement programmes to meet the training and capacity development needs of practitioners of open and distance learning administration, technical/technological and academic within the West African Sub-region
Training
The institute is expected to provide necessary training in research and provide support to early career researchers and experienced academics to pursue their research. To achieve its mandate, the institute has been focusing on meeting the training needs of open and distance learning institutions including single mode, dual mode, consortium and solely electronic mode in the West African sub region. This way, it intends building a network of open and distance learning trainers and core of professionals in ODL in the sub-region
Our Reach
Workshops
institutions
Participants
Our Events
Monthly ODL Discourse
The RETRIDOL Monthly Discourse series is a platform for sharing ideas based on research, expertise and even experiences around the topics that are related to Open and Distance Learning and e-Learning and related issues.
Workshops
One of our objectives is to build capacity of West African Higher Education Institutions in Open and Distance Learning by training their staff. To achieve this, we organize workshops to equip practitioners of ODL to successful navigate the current realities in ODL.
WAJOFEL
Wajofel is a peer-reviewed journal which exists to encourage and disseminate high-quality research in Open and Distance Learning (ODL), including e-Learning. This includes research in all disciplines where Open and Distance Learning approaches are used for teaching and learning.
