The Open University of Cyprus (OUC; Greek: Ανοικτό Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου in Greek), in Lefkosia (Nicosia), is the only distance learning university in Cyprus. Modelled on the British Open University, the Open University of Cyprus was established to fill an important gap for open and distance education in the higher education system of the Republic of Cyprus, in response to the growing demand for continuing education and lifelong learning. It is the first and only Higher Education Institution in Cyprus that provides open and distance education at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Placing great emphasis on research, the OUC promotes research programmes aiming towards the development of methodologies and corresponding high technologies for open and distance learning.