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Architecture for Building Open and Flexible Learning Platforms
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Abstract
Digital learning platforms for Universities need to be open and portable, open to extensions and adaptable across Universities. In this work, we describe Namaste BHU, a University companion built to address this issue. Namaste BHU contains a set of services called University Middleware, addressing what every university will need, such as messaging, reporting, and authentication. On top of this layer of services are the universityspecific services, which are tailored to a particular University with university-specific vocabulary and workflow. The University middleware, in turn, is served by technology middleware, such as database engines and workflow engines. Thus, the software is organised into three horizontally stacked layers, accompanied by a vertically integrated data layer. A distinct vertical Data Layer manages University-specific data like students, faculty, and courses.
A further design principle that is adopted is to automatically onboard every stakeholder of the University. As soon as a student or staff member is enrolled in the University, they do not need to register in the app; they can directly log in using the phone number provided at the time of admission. Then, with all stakeholders already onboard and authenticated, adding new functional requirements becomes easy.
This model enables rapid service deployment, easy extension through middleware, and seamless adaptation to other institutions by modifying only the data layer.
PCF11 Plus: Beyond the Forum
Sub-Theme: Gender, technology and innovation in open education
Paper ID: 4074
Country
India
Region
Asia
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Date
2025-09
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Commonwealth of Learning (COL)