OpenLearning to deliver first Australian Govt MOOC

OpenLearning has been awarded a contract to deliver Australia’s first federal government massive open online course (MOOC).

The Office of Best Practice Regulation in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has commissioned OpenLearning to deliver a regulatory impact analysis (RIA) MOOC that will train thousands of public servants and members of the public over the next four years.

Through the RIA MOOC, the federal government will be able to deliver cost-effective, high-quality training using OpenLearning’s platform.

The initiative will enable the government to roll out the training program on a large scale while increasing transparency on government decision-making for the public, community organisations and stakeholders.

RIA is an objective process that involves problem solving, cost-benefit analysis and public consultation that policy officers must undertake before proposing new regulations.

The self-paced training course will comprise 12 learning modules that will cater for everyone from beginners to experts in RIA within government and across the Asia-Pacific region.

The announcement was made as part of the opening of OpenLearning’s new global headquarters in Sydney. The new office will serve as its global engineering hub and a base for OpenLearning’s senior leadership team.

“Our expertise in the design and delivery of MOOCs, as well as our previous experience in delivering training to the government through our partnership with the Australian Institute of Sport, is highly regarded,” said Adam Brimo, CEO and co-founder of OpenLearning.

“The ability for OpenLearning’s platform to manage multiple languages is an essential attribute. We are delighted to be able to deliver this requirement to the government and to be awarded this opportunity.”

OpenLearning currently has over 200,000 students from 27 universities around the globe using its social and collaborative online learning platform. Its key customers include the University of New South Wales, the Australian Institute of Sport, the Ministry of Education in Malaysia and Taylor’s University (Malaysia).

Image courtesy Eduardo M.C. under CC