14
November
2019
|
18:47
Asia/Singapore

NUS expands suite of online courses

A wide range of online courses from top global universities will now be available to NUS students and staff, thanks to the tie-up with edX

NUS students and staff will now be able to access more than 2,000 online courses across a diverse range of subjects offered by over 120 institutional partners around the world, including top universities such as Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Tsinghua University and Kyoto University.

This is part of a strategic partnership with edX, the trusted platform for learning founded by Harvard and MIT.

Based in the US, edX provides high quality, university-level courses in a wide range of disciplines to over 24 million learners worldwide, from the majority of top-ranked universities and industry-leading companies around the world.

NUS students and staff may enrol in edX’s massive open online courses (MOOCs) via the University’s Learning Management System, LumiNUS.

While NUS staff can acquire new knowledge and skills through these MOOCs, NUS undergraduates will have the option of counting completed MOOCs as part of their Unrestrictive Elective requirements.

Courses for the public

Through this partnership with edX, NUS will also offer online courses to learners around the world.

The first NUS programme, to be launched in January 2020, is a professional certificate programme — “Spatial Computing Thinking”, taught by Associate Professor Patrick Janssen from NUS Architecture. Comprising four courses, this professional certificate programme will cover the theoretical knowledge and practical skills needed to create computational procedures for generating, analysing and visualising complex 3D spatial data sets.

NUS plans to introduce a spread of certified and non-certified courses over three years. Some of the MOOCs slated for 2020 include:

  • “Intercultural Communication at Work – Land the Job & Do it Well”, by the NUS Centre for English Language Communication. The course aims to equip learners with the professional communication skills to strive in culturally diverse workplaces.
  • “Introduction to Data Science and the Internet of Things for the Built Environment”, by the Department of Building at NUS Design and Environment. This is a data analytics skills development course for professionals in the built environment sector, such as architects, engineers, and construction and facility managers.
  • “The Future of US-China Relations”, by the NUS Asia Research Institute. The course will help students acquire an understanding of how great powers manage shifts in power and discern the differences in American and Chinese strategic thinking and priorities.

NUS Senior Deputy President and Provost, Professor Ho Teck Hua said, “We are thrilled that the partnership with edX will provide NUS students and staff with greater access to knowledge across diverse topics and specialisations, including technology, business, and the humanities. The professional certificate programme that we are offering will also help global learners to develop the proficiency and expertise that employers are increasingly looking for in prospective employees.”

See press release and media coverage.