Physical Chemistry MOOC wins higher education 'Oscar'
15 Dec 2015
Praised for highly innovative teaching techniques by a ‘who’s who’ of higher education experts
The University of Manchester Physical Chemistry MOOC has won first prize in the Natural Science section of the Wharton-QS Stars Reimagine Education awards.
The Wharton-QS Stars Awards 2015: Reimagine Education – judged by a panel of 40 international experts deemed a "who's who" of higher education – saw submissions from 520 universities and enterprises from 50 countries across the world.
The prestigious prize – presented at a ceremony in Philadelphia –follows on from the Guardian Award earlier this year.
The Physical Chemistry MOOC (Massive Open Online Course), led by Dr Patrick O'Malley, won for its exploration of delivering realistic laboratory-based teaching online.
Fully replicating a campus-delivered introductory chemistry course, it was devised and delivered on the Coursera platform.
The awards cited how the MOOC was illuminated by some highly innovative teaching techniques and required extensive collaborative efforts with the university eLearning teams and chemistry colleagues.
The citation added: “The scope and breadth of this undertaking can be gauged from the engagement of over 15,000 active participants from 158 countries around the world providing an unparalleled and unprecedented exposure of realistic science education to a highly receptive worldwide audience.”
Our massive open online courses – or MOOCs – bring the University’s teaching to a global audience. All students need is an Internet connection. Unlike other courses they are free of charge and a typical MOOC lasts six to eight weeks. At the end they receive a certificate of completion.
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