FutureLearn, an edutech spin-out backed by a number of UK universities, launches.

Massive open online course (MOOC) provider FutureLearn has launched its initial offering of 20 pilot courses.

Ranging from courses in psychology to British history, the launch is being treated as an open-beta ahead of more courses being brought online in early 2014. The website is being accompanied by a comprehensive mobile and tablet offering, drawing on technology originally developed at distance learning institution the Open University (OU).

A wholly-owned edutech spin-out of the OU, which invested a seven-figure sum in the project when it was announced last December, the platform will offer up free-to-access online higher education courses provided by a range of UK institutions. Partners include the universities of Edinburgh, Cardiff, East Anglia, King’s College, Bath, Bristol, Leeds, Birmingham, and others, as well as institutions the British Library, the British Council, and the British Museum.

The launch marks the first major attempt to edge into the growing MOOC market by a coalition of institutions outside of the US. The UK-based educational platform is seeking to follow in the footsteps of well-established US peers such as Stanford-linked Coursera and Harvard/Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s edX, two years after the first MOOC pilots were held in Stanford in 2011.

Martin Bean, vice-chancellor of the Open University, said, “Time and again we have seen the disruptive impact the internet can have on industries – driving innovation and enhancing the customer experience. I have no doubt MOOCs will do the same for education – offering people new and exciting ways to learn. This is why we took the initiative to join forces with a range of university and cultural partners to create FutureLearn – spearheading the UK’s response to the rise of MOOCs and offering students a new and innovative way to access courses.  It is so exciting to see the first of these going live and I can’t wait to see the range on offer expand over the coming months.”

 

* Disclaimer – the author previously worked on communications for the FutureLearn project whilst it was in development.