University studies are becoming an increasingly important part of vocational training and education. As the number of university graduates increases demand rises for individual courses and degrees accessible online or after working hours. People in the knowledge age demand that the vocational training they pursue after completing initial vocational training is credited within the university system and that through lifelong learning students/workers can achieve a university degree over time. Increasing access to distance education and facilitating a coherent accreditation system between universities is a way to answer these demands as well as offering education outside urban areas or in the periphery. Another important aspect is that these students have access to supporting services of vocational counsellors and technicians in their region.

The project sets out to transfer knowledge and experience between Iceland, Scotland, Sweden and Canada as a subcontractor.

These experiences include:

• Sweden, Jönköpin University - Universities of Sweden have a common portal for their offers in distance education, there students can find both individual courses as well as degrees to pursue in their own time. Parallel to the portal is an institution (NSHU) that supports and works on developing teaching methods, counselling and increase offers in distance education.
  
• Scotland, University of Highlands and Islands (UHI) - Has successful experience in the establishment of a network of universities and knowledge centres in the rural areas of Scotland. This network has resulted in a spread of expertise and build up of knowledge in rural areas, increasing education, society and economic involvement of the University in small communities and positive effect on economic development.
  
• Experts from Canada will be included as subcontractors. These connections will be with SMARTLABRADOR in Newfoundland and their project "The North Atlantic Knowledge Network" (NKN) which aims at increasing cooperation between countries in the North Atlantic for research, education and community development.
  

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Around 70 participants attended the final conference of the Net-University project although weather conditions were not favourable and the conference that was scheduled at 09:30 was postponed until 12:00 and for those that still could not attend a distance meeting was opened for several places around the country.

The objective of the conference was to introduce the outcome of the Net-university project. Presenters introduced the ideas behind distributed education and academy, cooperation models between key stakeholders of education and the role of education in regional development.

Participants in the conference were enthusiastic about the topics and the overall conclusion was that using the tools and methodologies of the Net-university project was the path towards the future.

Presentations can be found in project documents, meetings.