The two free online courses will start in July 2015 and have been developed by the University’s Academic Innovation Hub, supported by the University’s Online Learning centre (UDOL).
‘Bridging the Dementia Divide’ is the first MOOC to be launched on July 13th, in conjunction with UDOL and the University’s College of Health and Social Care. The MOOC is aimed at both family members who want to care for someone living with dementia or health and social care professionals.
An estimated 850,000 people in the UK are living with dementia, and 670,000 people act as primary carers for them. Numbers are expected to double within 30 years as the population ages.
Dementia costs the UK economy an estimated £26.3bn or £32,250 per person per year, comprising social care, health care and unpaid carers. While there is no cure for many forms of dementia, it is possible to improve lives and save costs.
A second MOOC titled ‘Digital Me: Managing Your Digital Self’ will launch on July 6th.
A MOOC is a short, free course run by major learning providers to share their knowledge of a particular academic topic or to help students develop a specific skill.
Julie Stone, director of UDOL, said: “As experts in online learning we hope our MOOCs will inspire learners to engage further in their educational opportunities and knowledge acquisition.
"Our free courses cover subjects that we specialise in making it easy for individuals to progress to their studies with us at undergraduate or postgraduate level.”
The free courses will include six units with universal Mozilla open badges awarded at the end of each unit which are recognised by the majority of employers and educational institutions around the world.
Upon completion of the courses an E-Certificate will be issued as evidence. Enrolment opens on the June 10 2015, for more information go to: www.derby.ac.uk/freeonlinecourses