The Learning Grid of Excellence Working Group (LeGE-WG) aims to facilitate the establishment of a European Learning Grid Infrastructure by supporting the systematic exchange of information and by creating opportunities for close collaboration between the different actors in the formative process.

The Working Group has been funded by the European Commission for an initial 2 years and brings together actors with complementary interests in Grid computing and e-Learning from technology-oriented disciplines, pedagogy, government or regulating bodies and of course students. It therefore provides an interdisciplinary consortium of experts and promotes close interaction between the communities associated with them, so as:

• to achieve an in-depth understanding of the fundamental issues underpinning the application of GRID computing for e-Learning
• to cultivate the necessary common background for addressing the challenges associated with the establishment of a European Learning Grid Infrastructure
• to establish a solid baseline for full exploitation of the EU-US Cooperation initiative on Science and Technology for e-Learning

Furthermore, the Working Group aims to accelerate the emergence of a Learning Grid Infrastructure by supporting knowledge and technology transfer in multiple directions:

• technological innovation which will instigate the evolution of pedagogical models
• feedback from students and educators which will serve to focus this technological innovation
• the necessary regulatory frameworks to support this joint evolution will be brought about

We expect the Working Group to lead to the definition of a number of closely interacting research and development projects, at national and international level, together with test-bed demonstrations, focusing on

• the different aspects of Grid technology that are of relevance to e-Learning
• the new learning strategies that will emerge through the utilisation of Grid technology and
• the legislative and regulatory frameworks that are necessary for enabling the development and fast take-up of a European Learning Grid infrastructure