The internet has changed the education sector like no other medium has. With major universities offering courses online, an educational revolution is under way. Martin Bean, vice-chancellor of the Open University (OU) of the UK, who visited India recently, seems optimistic about his university?s opportunity in the space, particularly with regard to students in India. ?We thought that with the advancement in technology and growing internet penetration globally, we need to evolve. Our product Futurelearn aims to further our expertise of providing quality distant education and offer an online learning platform to students,? said Bean.
International students, including those in India, will have free access to some of the UK?s top universities through Futurelearn, an entirely new company being launched by OU this year to deliver Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) generated by top universities in the UK. The universities of Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, East Anglia, Exeter, King?s College London, Lancaster, Leeds, Southampton, St Andrews and Warwick have all signed up to join Futurelearn. It will be independent but majority-owned by the OU and the primary objectives are to increase accessibility to higher education for students across the world, and to bring together a range of free, open, online courses from leading UK universities.
Bean answered in the affirmative when asked if Futurelearn could be used by UK varsities as a performance criteria should students wish to apply for regular courses in partner universities. ?There is no formal arrangement for that, but the universities can use it as an indicator,? added Bean.