The partnership marks the Dutch university’s first foray into massive open online courses (MOOCs), and comes as the University of Groningen celebrates its 400th anniversary with a month-long programme of activities aimed at establishing its future as a major contributor to education, research and social development.
The University of Groningen becomes FutureLearn’s 27th university partner, with more international institutions set to be announced in the coming weeks. FutureLearn’s tally of partners currently stands at 30, comprising universities as well as cultural institutions like the British Council, British Library and British Museum. Built to support a community of people learning through conversation, FutureLearn has seen high levels of engagement and participation since its first courses began in October last year.
The first course from the University of Groningen will begin on FutureLearn.com this September, adding to its Business and Management portfolio. The trans-disciplinary course will target people in, or aspiring to leadership roles, and teach them the first principles of complexity, uncertainty and how to make decisions in a complex world.
Simon Nelson, Chief Executive of FutureLearn, said: “We’re entering an exciting period of expansion and it’s my great pleasure to welcome the University of Groningen as FutureLearn’s first partner from The Netherlands. It’s especially significant that we enter into this collaboration as the University celebrates 400 years of excellence in teaching and research. Our global community of learners will gain access to some of Europe’s leading educators through the free online courses that the University of Groningen will launch on FutureLearn.”