The underlying purpose of ETD activities is to prepare the next generation of scholars to function effectively as knowledge workers in the Information Age. By institutionalizing this in a worldwide program, progress can be made toward tripartite goals of enhancing graduate education, promoting sharing of research, and supporting university collaboration. Particular objectives include:

·        students knowing how to contribute to and use digital libraries

·        universities developing digital library services and infrastructure

·        enhanced sharing of university research results

·        ETDs having higher quality and becoming more expressive of student findings