Oxford follows Wits to offer free online course

MyBroadband.com has reported that Oxford University will be offering a massive open online course (MOOC) from February 2017. The first MOOC course, From Poverty to Prosperity: Understanding Economic Development, is available for free enrolment on edx.org.

It will be led by Sir Paul Collier, Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government. The course will examine the role governments play in boosting economic development, using video lectures, case studies, and comparative analysis.

The MOOC is aimed at anyone with an interest in economic development. Enrolment is open and no academic qualifications are required.

The course will last six weeks, with learners expected to spend two to three hours a week on the course. The course will remain open to the public after the offering period (video lectures, case studies, readings) and you can take the multiple choice questions – but no interaction with peers or staff will be possible.

In June this year, Wits University announced that it had developed a suite of online courses that will be made available over the next three years. These include massive open online courses (MOOCs) on the edX platform, short online courses, and entirely-online degree programmes.

Wits was the first university in Africa to offer MOOCs on edX, an online platform established by Harvard University and MIT in 2012.

The first three MOOCs on the edX platform, WitsX, will be available within the next six months:

• System Dynamics for Health Sciences – 3 August 2016
• Research Methods: An Engineering Approach – 7 September 2016
• Results-Based Project Management: Monitoring and Evaluation – 5 October 2016

Wits advised that their MOOCs are free, although a certificate of completion can be purchased for approximately $49 – approximately R720 at the current exchange rate.