Eight new MOOCs
This autumn Leiden University is launching eight new MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) that are available free to the general public. You can follow courses on the theory of evolution, mindfulness, political economy, international law, music, cultural heritage or archaeology.
Evolution Today
The first five series of online lectures will be offered on the Coursera platform in September 2016, starting with Evolution Today, a new MOOC that Leiden University has developed in partnership with Naturalis Biodiversity Centre. More new MOOCs will follow in the course of the autumn.
Enormous interest
Over the past three years over 500,000 people have registered for online lectures, or MOOCs, offered by Leiden University, and the demand for online eduction is still growing. The lectures are given in English by professors/researchers at the University.
Crowdfunding
Anyone who is interested in one of the MOOCs can sign up via the Coursera website. The lectures are free, but if you want to receive a formal certificate, there is a small cost involved. The University has started a crowdfunding project to cover these costs and to finance new teaching material.
Online Learning Lab
The MOOCs are produced by the Online Learning Lab at Leiden University's Centre for Innovation. The lab examines how online education can contribute to improving traditional higher education and academic research, and also looks at which new technologies can be used to improve online education. Leiden University believes strongly in the importance of innovations in teaching, including in the digital environment, for the further development of education.
September
- 19 September Evolution Today by Professor Menno Schilthuizen, Dr. Maurijn van der Zee en Dr. Rutger Vos (new) trailer
- 19 September Configuring the World part 1 by Professor Richard Griffiths (relaunch) trailer
- 26 September Demystifying Mindfulness by Professor Chris Goto-Jones (new) trailer
- 26 September International Law in Action: Investigating and prosecuting International Crimes by Professor Carsten Stahn et al. (new) trailer
- 30 September Osteoarchaeology: the Truth in Human Bones byDr Andrea Waters (new) trailer
October 2016
- 17 October Music and Society by Professor Marcel Cobussen, Dr. Hafez Ismaïli M’Hamdi. (new)
- 31 October Configuring the World part 2 by Professor Richard Griffiths (relaunch) trailer
November 2016
1 November Heritage under Threat by Dr Sada Mire et al. (new) trailer