Blended Learning, Online & MOOC

A new initiative with a long-term commitment

A strategic project for the implementation of Blended Learning (BL) was launched in Spring 2013 following a Senior Management Retreat. This development is intended to enhance students’ engagement in their learning and to increase the instructional value of in-class face-to-face learning.

The first phase of the project includes a commitment from all academic units to bring forward at least one course for development as a BL course – about 20 courses in all. University-level resources have been provided to create the capability to support design, production and implementation of these courses. This phase-one pilot will provide the basis for full-scale development, with an expectation that one-in-five undergraduate courses will adopt a blended approach. To support this ambitious BL initiative, and alongside a comprehensive campus-wide AV upgrade of classroom spaces, a number of different types of new learning spaces have been created, such as flexible 'flat classrooms' and student multimedia production and self-study spaces.

As part of our internationalization strategy to reach out globally to students, the establishment of partnerships with both Coursera and edX to produce MOOCs has complemented this effort. These partnerships began with Coursera – HKUST being the first such partner in Asia – and then with edX shortly after. MOOCs on these platforms provide components for courses to be taught in a blended format, while the development of online materials for blended courses can be a basis for future MOOCs and vice versa.

Courses on offer: