Issues of e-learning standards and identity management for mobility and collaboration in higher education Paulo Alves Instituto Polite ´cnico de Braganc ¸a, Braganc ¸a, Portugal, and James Uhomoibhi Faculty of Engineering, University of Ulster, Newtownabbey, UK Abstract Purpose – This paper seeks to investigate and report on the status of identity management systems and e-learning standards across Europe for promoting mobility, collaboration and the sharing of contents and services in higher education institutions. Design/methodology/approach – The present research work examines existing e-learning standards and the tools and processes applied to managing the identity of learners registered for programmes of study in higher education. The paper draws on recent developments and argues that the creation of identity management federations is mandatory to provide the mobility of users and to permit the exchange of contents and services between institutions. Findings – It is revealed that it is crucial to create identity management federation to provide for ease of mobility and facilitate collaboration and sharing information amongst staff and students in higher education. Research limitations/implications – The challenges arising from language, culture and differences in systems for the regions require consideration. Future work intends to incorporate some of these issues, to examine and report on them from the diverse perspectives, taking into account, the impact of globalisation. Originality/value – This paper presents the main features of e-learning standards and how they can be used in conjunction with identity management systems to create collaborative learning objects repositories to promote a more effective learning experience and a more competitive European space for higher education, with respect to the requirements of knowledge-based societies. Keywords Information management, E-learning, Standards, Higher education, Europe Paper type Research paper Introduction With new requirements for authentication, authorisation and identity management for web applications, most higher education institutions implement several solutions to address these issues. At the first level, the adoption of directory servers like LDAP, Active Directory and others, solve some problems of having multiple logins and passwords for authentication. The growing of web applications like learning management systems, portals, blogs, wikis, and others, need a more effective way of The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/1065-0741.htm The authors would like to acknowledge support of EUNIS E-learning Task Force and especially the members of the E-learning Future and Visions Group. They would also like to acknowledge the contribution of colleagues from SEFI and TREE Thematics Network for useful discussions. E-learning standards 79 Campus-Wide Information Systems Vol. 27 No. 2, 2010 pp. 79-90 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1065-0741 DOI 10.1108/10650741011033053