A Remarkable Year for the Digital Education Service
The Digital Education Service has been very busy this year! As 2019 draws to a close, it’s time to reflect on our recent work and celebrate some of the achievements that have made the last 12 months remarkable. Here are just a few moments from 2019 that we’re proud of:
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women
This year ‘Grow your Business with Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women’ attracted over 23,000 enrolments and reached at least 169 countries, supporting a global community of female entrepreneurs to pursue business growth. Our 10,000 Women delivery team received staggering numbers of applications for the first ever Growth Fellowship, a 4-day business coaching event for course completers funded by the Goldman Sachs Foundation. In November, the final 4 businesswomen travelled to New York for their exclusive coaching opportunity. They reported a successful trip, and continue to be involved in the 10,000 Women alumni community.
Funding from the Institute of Coding (IoC)
Funding was awarded to the University of Leeds by the Institute of Coding this year, with the aim to create online learning opportunities for the next generation of digital talent. The Digital Education Service worked diligently with this exciting new partner, designing the curriculum for 15 short courses to improve the digital employability skills for 18-25 years olds and individuals returning to the workplace. The Service collaborated with FutureLearn and outreach partners including #techmums, UKBlacktech and NESTA to produce the Digital Skills for the Workplace suite of courses for the Institute of Coding. We look forward to running the new programme, for the first time on FutureLearn in January 2020.
MEDEA Award for Professionally Produced Educational Media
‘Transport Systems: Global Issues and Future Innovations’ has won the MEDEA Award for Professionally Produced Educational Media. The course was acclaimed for its pioneering use of video at an awards ceremony in Leuven Town Hall on 5 June 2019. This is an astounding achievement, as the prestigious MEDEA Awards are open to nominations from Europe and beyond. Our award-winning course features a range of engaging media, aiming to provide a stimulating learning experience while exploring the impact of th3 transport sector on infrastructures in a 21st century society.
‘Critical Thinking at University: An Introduction’ in the Top 100 Free Online courses of all time
Class Central’s compilation of the Top 100 Free Online Courses lists the highest rated online courses of all time, based on thousands of reviews written by users of the course review website. We’re proud to note that the list features ‘Critical Thinking at University: An Introduction’, from the University of Leeds portfolio of courses to improve academic skills. The course has received 4 stars or higher from 98% of reviewers, making it one of the University’s many online courses that have been awarded an overall 5-star rating on Class Central.
Success for International Baccalaureate Online Course
The IB Extended Essay: Managing your Research Project has attracted 10,674 joiners since its launch in January 2019, making it the most popular of all the online courses offered by the University of Leeds. Not only this, but it has also been listed among 2019's Most Popular Online Courses on Class Central! In order to choose the Top 100 courses, Class Central combined numbers of course enrolments and data regarding bookmarked courses. We’re delighted to see one of our top courses doing so well.
Rated No. 5 in the UK for Online Courses on MOOCLab
In MOOCLab's World University Rankings, the University of Leeds ranks 5th out of 11 UK institutions and 43rd out of over 200 universities worldwide! The World University Rankings by MOOC Performance (WURMP) 2020 are the first ever world university rankings based on MOOC provision. The list includes universities offering courses on Coursera, edX and FutureLearn, and determines each institution’s overall ranking on the basis of performance indicators such as the number of learning pathways and micro-credentials offered.
Here’s to more exciting digital learning opportunities in 2020!