The agreement was signed by IJS director Jadran Lenarčič and the UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova on Tuesday.

The chair, which will be headed by Mitja Jermol, the head of IJS centre for transfer of IT know-how, will strive for a comprehensive system of research and training, offering information and documents on e-learning for open educational contents and learning, the IJS said on its web site.

Meanwhile, a month ago, Slovenia got its first UNESCO study centre - for Karst research. The centre evolved from a post-graduate course which was set up by the University of Nova Gorica and the Postojna-based Karst Research Institute in 2003.

The centre, one of UNESCO's 800 centres in 132 countries, is the only one in the world offering post-graduate studies in Karst research. The study focusses on features typical of the Kras region in south-western Slovenia such as caves and underground waters.

So far 14 students obtained a PhD, while nine students from five countries are just about to conclude their studies.