Dr. Pierre-Jean Loiret

Dr. Pierre-Jean Loiret is a lecturer in educational sciences. He is Deputy Director of the Educational Innovation and Knowledge Economy department at the Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF). The AUF is an association of universities and a development agency, specializing in higher education. It has 779 member institutions and operates in 94 countries with 410 employees. 

Dr. Loiret is a specialist in distance learning, the use of technology in teaching and educational project management in developing countries. In his research, he looks into the conditions for successful educational projects, particularly in Africa, and measures disparities between institutional discourse and communication and on-the-ground realities. 

As part of his professional activities, he is the coordinator of the “Initiative for distance training of teachers in Francophone countries” (IFADEM), which is jointly piloted by AUF and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF). IFADEM participates in international efforts to achieve basic quality education for all and aims to improve the skills of teachers in teaching French, and teaching in French. The countries involved in IFADEM design and organize a training method, partly using e-learning, adapted to the needs of their educational systems and using ICT. IFADEM is operating today in five states (Benin, Burundi, Haiti, Madagascar and the Democratic Republic of Congo) and will be deployed in the coming four years in around 10 new countries. 

As project leader, Pierre-Jean Loiret oversaw the AUF’s assistance in the development of open and distance learning in universities in the South that has allowed the creation of 40 distance Bachelor’s and Master’s courses over the last four years. 

Websites: www.auf.org – www.ifadem.org – www.foad.refer.org