Program overview

The Columbia University Center for Veteran Transition and Integration (CVTI) supports excellence and innovation in transition programming for current and former members of the armed forces.

As a service member in transition, you may face barriers reaching your potential in accessing higher education and beginning meaningful careers, despite the many effective programs offered to this population by the Department of Labor, Department of Defense’s Transition Assistance Program, and other programs offered by the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. With this in mind, the CVTI is dedicated to creating free courses that will help to break down those barriers to your successful transition. Currently we are offering three courses to meet these demands, with more courses on the way. While these courses are created for veterans and active duty service members, they are free and available for all.

Attaining Higher Education is a course designed to facilitate the successful transition of active duty service members and veterans to postsecondary education, whether at a two- or four-year college for an associate’s or bachelor’s degree, or even graduate school.

University Studies for Student Veterans helps orient veterans to the norms and expectations of the college classroom, along with offering strategies to ease the transition, to help achieve academic goals, and to allow students to optimize their college education.

Find Your Calling: Transition Principles for Returning Veterans will focus on the development of interpersonal, intrapersonal, and intellectual character strengths as they relate to making a successful career transition from military service to the civilian workforce. The course content is meant to provide you with a framework for an iterative process of self-reflection and the development of practical skills that enables you to make career choices that better align with your values, ambitions, and continued service. Ultimately, this course helps you answer the question: What should I do next?

What will you learn

  • General and detailed information about colleges and universities.
  • Foundational academic and study skills for achieving academic success in college.
  • Strategies for more effective reading, writing, test preparation, and time management.
  • Practical tips and strategies for making a successful military-to-civilian career transition.
  • A framework for how to begin thinking about and exploring new career opportunities.

Program Class List

1
Attaining Higher Education

Course Details
Prepare to transition to college using intentional decision-making. Aimed at active duty service members and veterans, with this course you will learn about the college admission process, including financial aid, to help you choose a right-fit college.

2
University Studies for Student Veterans

Course Details
This course helps veterans transition smoothly from military service to college, and helps them maximize their success once they arrive.

3
Find Your Calling: Career Transition Principles for Returning Veterans

Course Details
This course provides military veterans with a useful roadmap to transition more smoothly from military service to a new and meaningful civilian career.

Meet Your Instructors

Beth E. Morgan - Pearson Advance

Beth E. Morgan

Director of Higher Education Transition and Partnerships at Columbia University Born in Quantico, Virginia, Beth grew up in a Marine Corps family and was raised around the world, living for periods of time in Hawaii, Germany, and Korea. Professionally, Beth has worked for the Central Intelligence Agency, for several non-profits, as a consultant, and on staff at major universities throughout the United States, including Colgate University, Princeton University, and the University of Southern California. Prior to joining the Center for Veteran Transition and Integration at Columbia University, Beth worked most recently with the non-profit Service to School as Executive Director and previously directed the Marine Corps Leadership Scholar Program (LSP), both of which assisted transitioning service members and veterans with admission to undergraduate and graduate programs. Beth has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia and a Master of Arts degree from Stanford University.

R.J. Jenkins

Curriculum Designer at Columbia University Before joining the Columbia University Center for Veteran Transition and Integration as a Curriculum Designer in 2016, R.J. served as an Associate Dean of Students at Columbia University’s School of General Studies where he directed the Academic Resource Center and served as the lead instructor for University Studies, a transition course for first-year, non-traditional students. An award-winning teacher, R.J. has advised college students at Columbia, Cambridge, and Harvard Universities, and has taught courses in English and American literature, literary history, close reading, academic skill-building, and English for Speakers of Other Languages. R.J. holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and anthropology from Columbia University (2003), a Master of Letters in English literature from the University of Cambridge (2005), and is currently pursuing doctoral work in English literature.

Skip Bailey

Senior Advisor to the Director of Educational Financing at Columbia University William ”Skip” Bailey has been a financial aid administrator for more than 34 years. He has been managing financial aid for non-traditional students at the School of General Studies (GS) for over 20 years. Previously he administered financial aid at multiple colleges including the University of San Diego and the University of Michigan. A degree in education from Michigan State University and lots of experience has provided Skip with the tools he uses every day to assist students at GS with the myriad issues involved with college financial aid.
Tanya Ang - Pearson Advance

Tanya Ang

Vice President of Veterans Education Success at Columbia University Tanya is the Vice President of Veterans Education Success and has more than 17 years of experience in higher education. She has worked at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and also served as the Director of Veterans Programs at the American Council on Education. Prior to joining ACE, Tanya worked at two universities including working as an Administrative Analyst for the Vice President of Student Affairs Office at California State University - Fullerton and as Associate Registrar at Vanguard University where most her work focused on the non-traditional student including military and student veterans. She was the certifying official at her institution for student veteran GI Bill benefits and worked hand-in-hand with the various offices on-campus to ensure students received the benefits and the support they needed to successfully navigate their academic career. In her current role, she works to ensure military-connected students have access to high-quality education to achieve their long term career goals. Tanya is the first in her family to graduate from college, and earned her BA in Communications at Biola University and an MA in Organizational Leadership at Vanguard University.

Sara Remedios

Associate Dean of Students at Columbia University Sara is Associate Dean of Students at Columbia University’s School of General Studies where she directs the Academic Resource Center and oversees all academic and learning initiatives. Before coming to Columbia, she worked to restructure the CUNY Pipeline Honors Program, a program dedicated to assisting exceptional undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds in gaining admission to doctoral programs. She is also an accomplished teacher. Dean Remedios holds a B.A. in English and political science from Washington University in St. Louis (2009), an M.Phil. in English literature from the City University of New York (2014), and a Ph.D. in English literature from the City University of New York (2016).

Josh Edwin

Senior Assistant Dean of Students at Columbia University Josh is Senior Assistant Dean of Students at Columbia University’s School of General Studies. His teaching experience at Columbia includes University Studies, academic writing classes, one-on-one writing support, and creative writing workshops for veterans. He has also taught at a public high school in Atlanta and an English language school in Seoul, South Korea. In addition to teaching, he has published widely as a poet, translator, and reviewer. He holds a B.A. in English and creative writing from Emory University and an M.F.A. in poetry and literary translation from Columbia University’s School of the Arts.

Michael Abrams

Executive Director - Center for Veteran Transition and Integration, Marine Corps Veteran at Columbia University Michael Abrams joined the Marine Corps shortly following the September 11, 2001 attacks and served on active duty for eight years, which included a deployment to Afghanistan with an infantry company as the artillery forward observer. After leaving active duty, Michael attended New York University’s Stern School of Business graduating with an M.B.A. in Finance and Entrepreneurship & Innovation. While attending business school, he founded FourBlock to help bridge the gap between returning service members and the business community. The program is a university accredited, semester-long course that educates and prepares transitioning veterans for meaningful careers in corporate America. FourBlock is in nearly twenty cities across the country, educating and serving hundreds of transitioning veterans each semester. Michael is now serving as the executive director of the Columbia University Center for Veteran Transition and Integration. The newly established center of excellence is dedicated to creating and supporting evidence-based programming that enables returning service members with reaching their academic and career potential.
William Deresiewicz - Pearson Advance

William Deresiewicz

Best-Selling Author, Award-Winning Essayist at Columbia University William Deresiewicz is an award-winning essayist and critic, a frequent speaker at colleges and other venues, and the best-selling author of Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life. He taught English at Yale and Columbia before becoming a full-time writer in 2008. Bill has published over 250 essays and reviews. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Harper's, The Nation, The New Republic, The American Scholar, and many other publications. He has won the Hiett Prize in the Humanities, the Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing, and a Sydney Award; he is also a three-time National Magazine Award nominee. His work has been translated into 17 languages and anthologized in more than 30 college readers. He has spoken at over 80 colleges, high schools, and educational groups and has held visiting positions at Bard, Scripps, and Claremont McKenna Colleges. Bill’s previous book is A Jane Austen Education. He is working on a book about how artists are making a living in the new economy.  

Sheena Iyengar

World-Renowned Expert on Choice, S. T. Lee Professor of Business at Columbia University Professor Iyengar has taught courses in leadership and entrepreneurial creativity. Her research addresses the implications of offering people, whether they be employees or consumers, choices. She has examined choice in a multitude of contexts ranging from employee motivation and performance in a global organization, Citigroup, to chocolate displays at Godiva, to the magazine aisles of supermarkets, and to mutual fund options in retirement benefit plans. Professor Iyengar received the Presidential Early Career Award for her ongoing work in examining cultural, individual, and situational factors that influence people's choice-making preferences and behaviors.

Sebastian Junger

NYT Best-Selling Author, Documentary Filmmaker at Columbia University Sebastian Junger is the #1 New York Times Bestselling author of THE PERFECT STORM, FIRE, A DEATH IN BELMONT, WAR and TRIBE. As an award-winning journalist, a contributing editor to Vanity Fair and a special correspondent at ABC News, he has covered major international news stories around the world, and has received both a National Magazine Award and a Peabody Award. Junger is also a documentary filmmaker whose debut film "Restrepo", a feature-length documentary (co-directed with Tim Hetherington), was nominated for an Academy Award and won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance.

Program Overview

The exciting field of Cloud Computing has experienced explosive growth. This transformative technology has not only altered the way business operate, but it has also shaken up the traditional structure of the IT department and placed new demands on staff members who are faced with reinventing their own careers. With organizations rapidly moving their infrastructures and services to the cloud, jobs are growing at a breakneck pace, with many positions are left unfilled.

Gain an understanding of cloud technologies such as AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, OpenStack, and vSphere and how to leverage them to increase business productivity and effectiveness. In this Cloud Computing MicroMasters program, you will learn about Infrastructure As A Service (IaaS), Platform As A Service (PaaS), Software As A Service (SaaS), and other “X as a service” platforms. You will receive key foundational knowledge about legal and compliance issues, security and risk mitigation and how to follow industry standards and best practices. You will also gain hands-on experience in implementing, configuring and managing cloud technologies.

This applied, graduate-level program is designed for learners who want to enter or advance their careers in this exciting and well-paying field. IT professionals not already working with cloud technologies will gain a solid foundation while those with some cloud experience will gain a more in-depth understanding of other cloud technologies and other knowledge such as security, policy, and legal and compliance issues.

What you will learn

  • Cloud computing foundations and models
  • Types of cloud computing technologies (ie: AWS, Azure, IBM)
  • Methods for managing a cloud computing adoption/migration project
  • How to design a cloud computing infrastructure or service
  • Deployment and configuration of cloud computing systems
  • Insuring cloud security and mitigating risk
  • SaaS, PaaS and IaaS and other service platforms

Courses in this program

1
Cloud Computing for Enterprises

Course Details
Understand cloud computing technologies and how they can increase business productivity and effectiveness.

2
Cloud Computing Infrastructure

Course Details
Learn how to design, configure, and manage a cloud computing infrastructure.

3
Cloud Computing Engineering and Management

Course Details
Learn methods for managing cloud computing projects and build an understanding of the various risks and compliance issues involved.

4
Cloud Computing Security

Course Details
Learn how to identify security issues in the cloud and industry-standard techniques and procedures to prevent and mitigate risks.

Meet your instructors

Charif El MaMouni

Charif El MaMouni is a Cloud Computing professional with more than fifteen years experience in the Telecommunications and Finance industries with solid technical background in SDLC applied to DevOps, Automation and CICD, coupled with in-depth knowledge of public and private Cloud Infrastructure Architectures and Implementations. He holds a Master of Science in Computer Engineering from the University of Central Florida in addition to AWS Certified Solution Architect, DevOps Architect and PMP.

Jarrod Jordan

Mr. Jarrod Jordan is an Adjunct Faculty at University of Maryland Global Campus and Webster University and currently serves as a Cybersecurity Manager for the United States Army Cyber Protection Brigade (USACPB). His career spans over 18 years working in the Information Technology, Cybersecurity, and Intelligence industries. Mr. Jordan’s experiences as a practitioner extends throughout the Department of Defense (DoD) and Intelligence Community to include the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the National Security Agency (NSA).

Patrick Appiah-Kubi

Patrick is the Program Director of Cloud Computing and Networking at University of Maryland Global Campus. He has over 13 years on industry and teaching experience in networks and cloud computing.

Jeff Tjiputra

Dr. Tjiputra is the Chair of the Cloud Computing Architecture program at University of Maryland Global Campus. He has over fifteen years experience teaching computer and information technology courses including computer networking, cybersecurity, and cloud computing.

Program endorsements

The pace of today’s digital transformation requires us all to make a concerted effort to keep our technical expertise current. Programs like UMGC’s MicroMasters program in Cloud Computing are excellent opportunities for people seeking to stay ahead of the curve, learning about cutting-edge cloud and modular technology solutions that are required to excel in a modern, 24/7 environment.

Greg Wenzel , Executive Vice President for Booz Allen’s Digital Solutions group

For the second year in a row, cloud and distributed computing led LinkedIn’s annual list of the skills employers need most in candidates, outpacing statistical analysis and data mining. When I published the world’s 1st Doctoral Dissertation on Cloud Computing in 2011, I envisioned cloud computing revolutionizing the enterprise. The Cloud Computing MicroMasters is an efficient and targeted way for those interested in this career path to obtain the foundational knowledge and skills in the growing cloud computing field.

Jeff Daniels , Senior Manager, Lockheed Martin Corporation

The pace of today’s digital transformation requires us all to make a concerted effort to keep our technical expertise current. Programs like UMGC’s MicroMasters program in Cloud Computing are excellent opportunities for people seeking to stay ahead of the curve, learning about cutting-edge cloud and modular technology solutions that are required to excel in a modern, 24/7 environment.

Greg Wenzel , Executive Vice President for Booz Allen’s Digital Solutions group

For the second year in a row, cloud and distributed computing led LinkedIn’s annual list of the skills employers need most in candidates, outpacing statistical analysis and data mining. When I published the world’s 1st Doctoral Dissertation on Cloud Computing in 2011, I envisioned cloud computing revolutionizing the enterprise. The Cloud Computing MicroMasters is an efficient and targeted way for those interested in this career path to obtain the foundational knowledge and skills in the growing cloud computing field.

Jeff Daniels , Senior Manager, Lockheed Martin Corporation

FAQs

Is there any way to reduce the time needed to take and pass the four online courses?
No. To earn the MicroMasters program certificate you need to successfully earn a verified certificate in all four Cloud Computing MicroMasters program courses when they are scheduled and then, pass the final, comprehensive proctored exam. The courses are on an instructor-paced schedule rather than self-paced, so there is no way to reduce the time to complete them.

Who can take this course?
Unfortunately, learners from Iran and Cuba will not be able to register for this course. While edX has received a licenses from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to offer courses to learners from these countries, our licenses do not cover this course. EdX truly regrets that US sanctions prevent us from offering all of our courses to everyone, no matter where they live.

How many credits will I be eligible for after completing the MicroMasters program certificate?
Learners who successfully earn the MicroMasters program certificate and are admitted into UMGC’s graduate school are eligible to earn up to 12 credits toward the Master’s degree (36 credits are required for graduation with the MS in Cloud Computing Architecture degree).

Who is the MicroMasters program intended for?
The Cloud Computing MicroMasters program is designed for individuals who want to develop theoretical and technical competencies required to design and manage cloud computing environment.

What is considered a passing grade in the MicroMasters program courses?
Students must achieve a grade of 80% or higher for a passing grade in each of the courses in the MicroMasters program.

May I take one of the courses even though I have not taken its prerequisite?
No. The program content and course projects are sequential allowing the learner to build on subsequent work. Completing the listed prerequisite courses is essential in order to be successful in the course work.

Will I earn a separate certificate for each course or just one for the entire MicroMasters program?
You will receive an individual verified certificate for each Cloud Computing MicroMasters program course that you pass as a verified student. Students passing the final capstone project review and all four Cloud Computing MicroMasters program courses on a verified track will receive a MicroMasters program certificate.

Along with the four Cloud Computing MicroMasters program courses and the final, comprehensive exam, are there any other requirements in order to be eligible for the UMGC Master’s Degree?
Yes. You need to be admitted to the Master’s program. The MicroMasters program certificate does not guarantee admission. The Learner will need to complete the application process to UMGC and meet all entrance requirements for The Graduate School. For more information visit: https://www.umgc.edu/admissions/admission-requirements/graduate-admissions.cfm

Do I need to be a verified student to earn the Cloud Computing MicroMasters program certificate?
Yes. If you are interested in the Cloud Computing MicroMasters program certificate, you must successfully pass and receive a verified certificate in each of the four Cloud Computing Program courses (CC605x, CC607x, CC615x, CC617x) as well as successfully pass the final, comprehensive proctored exam .

How long does a student have to apply to and complete the full UMGC degree?
To ensure that your program remains relevant and up-to-date, UMGC sets time limits for completing a program. Students have five (5) consecutive years from the start of the graduate degree to complete their degree. For students who start with a MicroMasters, their “time clock” begins on the date that they complete their last course in the MicroMasters program and receive their Verified Certificate. This means that students should apply to UMGC promptly to begin the degree and have as much time as possible to complete it.

Program Overview

Gain an advantage by learning the key business essentials through this comprehensive online MicroMasters program, covering all core management disciplines.

Understanding the managerial context of decision making is critical to being a successful manager. The MicroMasters program in management from the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, aims to provide the learner with the perfect learning pathway to develop core competencies across six management disciplines:

  • Accounting
  • Finance
  • Operations Management
  • People Management
  • Marketing
  • Business Strategy

Take advantage of the MicroMasters program certificate to rejuvenate your career or enhance your knowledge and program certificates by stepping into the campus at IIMB to complete an Advanced Management Programme on IIMBx.

What you will learn

  • An overview of business organizations and the role accounting plays in managing them.
  • Understand the role of operations management in a firm and develop the ability to structure and solve operations related problems.
  • Acquire a deeper understanding of the different aspects of people management.
  • An introduction to the systematic framework of marketing management and different approaches for marketing goods and services.
  • Master concepts and tools that are useful to managers for making financial decisions.
  • Understand the analytical approaches underlying strategy and competitive advantage.

Courses in this program

1
Operations Management

Course Details
Understand key aspects of business operations and lean management including capacity, productivity, quality, and supply chain.

2
People Management

Course Details
Learn to be a better manager by developing leadership and communication skills designed to turn first time managers into great team leaders.

3
Corporate Finance

Course Details
Learn the ideas, concepts and tools managers use to make the right financial decisions.

4
Strategic Management

Course Details
Learn how a manager or CEO develops a business strategy, including analyzing the market and creating competitive advantage.

5
Accounting for Decision-Making

Course Details
Learn how to read and interpret financial statements and manage costs to take informed business decisions.

6
Marketing Management

Course Details
Learn how to effectively apply marketing management theories and practices, including the marketing mix, through real-world business scenarios.

Meet your instructors

Ashok Thampy

Ashok Thampy is Professor of Finance at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. He received his Ph.D. from Krannert Graduate School of Management, Purdue University. Prior to joining IIMB, he was at the Department of Finance, Bilkent University, Turkey. He has also held visiting positions at the Department of Economics at Santa Clara University, USA, and the School of Business, Economics and Law, at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. His research interests lie in the areas of Corporate Finance and Banking.

Ashis Mishra

Dr. Ashis Mishra is a faculty member in the Marketing Area at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB). Dr. Mishra teaches marketing management and retail management. His area of research involves Retail Productivity Analysis, Retail Atmospherics and Retail Consumer Behaviour. He has successfully developed and applied many quantitative models and business model frameworks in solving marketing/retailing-related problems. He has published over 10 papers in various national and international journals of repute. His current projects include ‘A Dynamic Model for Forecasting in Indian Retail Sector’, ‘Store Atmospherics as a Tool for Retail Productivity’ and ‘Technographic Segmentation of Indian Retail Consumers.’

Sai Yayavaram

Sai Yayavaram is an Associate Professor at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, where he teaches Competition & Strategy and Strategy Content. He also conducts executive education programmes on strategic management and management of innovation for senior managers. He is a Ph.D. in Strategic Management from McCombs School of Business, The University of Texas at Austin and holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. His research focuses on technology management, complexity and strategic rents and has been published in Administrative Science Quarterly, Strategic Management Journal, and Organization Science.

P D Jose

P D Jose is an professor at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, where he teaches core courses on Business and Corporate Strategy and several electives on sustainability. He is a Fellow of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. He also has a Post Graduate Diploma in Forestry Management from the Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal and Bachelors in Physics from the Institute of Science, Bombay. He has taught classes on strategy and/or sustainability at a number of schools including Cardiff University Business School (UK); the School of Economics and Business at the University of Goteborg, Sweden; Indian Institute of Management at Kozhikode and Ahmedabad. He has also consulted with several government agencies, non-governmental, private sector and international organizations.

Vasanthi Srinivasan

Vasanthi Srinivasan is a Professor in the Organizational Behaviour and Human Resource Management Area. Her research interests are in the field of HRM. She has been extensively involved in designing and delivering Leadership Development Programs for Indian and international companies. Her prior experience in offering the MOOC course - Introduction to People Management motivates her to effectively harness technology for learning impact.

MS Narasimhan

Professor MS Narasimhan teaches courses on Management Accounting, Financial Accounting, Corporate Finance and Investments. His areas of interest include Management Accounting, Corporate Finance and Capital Markets. He is a member of the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India. He has also completed a study on Corporate Disclosure Practices in India, sponsored under the FIRE project. He has published several articles and research studies in national and international journals and financial newspapers.
B. Mahadevan - Pearson Advance

B. Mahadevan

B. Mahadevan is a Professor of Operations Management at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, where he has been teaching since 1992. He received his Ph.D. from IIT Madras. He was a visiting scholar at the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration, Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, in 1999–2000 and a retainer consultant to Deloitte Consulting LLP, USA, in 2001–2002. Prof. Mahadevan was one among the 40 nominated globally for the Economic Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Business Professor of the Year Award, 2012. He is a member of the editorial board of the Production and Operations Management Journal _and the International Journal of Business Excellence. He has published several of his research findings in _California Management Review, European Journal of Operational Research, Interfaces, Production and Operations Management Journal and International Journal of Production Research.

Rejie George Pallathita

Rejie is an Associate Professor in the Corporate Strategy and Policy area at IIM Bangalore. He is a Ph.D. from Tilburg University in The Netherlands. Professor Pallathitta’s interests are in the areas of Corporate Governance, Strategic Management and International Business. He has published papers in the Strategic Management Journal and the Journal of Business Research and has presented his research work at several international conferences.

What you will learn

  • To design VR applications with Unity 3D
  • How OpenGL works and is used to create realistic looking applications
  • To transform coordinate systems for 3D interactions
  • Hardware components for VR and how they work
  • What makes a VR application successful
  • How to create your own VR app
  • How to use this VR program to develop augmented reality (AR) applications

Program Overview

Virtual reality (VR) is one of the hottest emerging technologies in the entertainment industry today. Millions of VR devices have been sold in the US alone, but most software developers have no formal training on the technology. This Professional Certificate program will teach you what VR devices exist, how VR technology works, and how to write software, often called VR experiences, for it.

You will learn effective 3D interaction techniques to use VR applications, how to write VR applications in WebVR and Unity 3D, and what features make a VR application successful. You will also learn the required mathematics for successful VR applications and how computer graphics are rendered onto a screen.

The final course in this program will allow you to apply the material learned in the previous courses to create your own VR app.

This program will provide you with a strong foundation to develop VR apps in all areas VR is used, including entertainment and gaming. This VR program also provides a solid foundation for people who want to develop augmented reality (AR) applications.

Courses in this program

1
Computer Graphics

Course Details
Learn to create images of 3D scenes in both real-time and with realistic ray tracing in this introductory computer graphics course.

2
How Virtual Reality Works

Course Details
Learn how virtual reality technology works by writing simple VR programs with WebVR.

3
Creating Virtual Reality (VR) Apps

Course Details
Learn the tools and techniques to develop your own professional VR app in Unity 3D.

Meet your instructors

Jurgen P. Schulze

Research Scientist and Adjunct Professor of Computer Science at UC San Diego Jurgen teaches computer graphics and virtual reality at UC San Diego. His research interests include applications for virtual and augmented reality systems, 3D human-computer interaction, and medical data visualization. He holds an M.S. degree from the University of Massachusetts and a Ph.D. from the University of Stuttgart, Germany. He spent two years as a post-doctoral researcher in the Computer Science Department at Brown University.

Ravi Ramamoorthi

Ravi Ramamoorthi is a Professor at the University of California, San Diego. He has taught computer graphics more than 10 times at Stanford, Columbia and UC Berkeley, and has been honored with a number of awards for his research, including the ACM SIGGRAPH Significant New Researcher Award and by the White House with the PECASE (Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers). He was a finalist for the inaugural edX Prize for Exceptional Contributions in Online Teaching and Learning.

Program Endorsements

At Qualcomm we are working on the next generation of mobile computing devices. Virtual and augmented reality are an important part of it. We value software developers with a strong foundation in 3D computer graphics programming and an understanding of virtual and augmented reality technology. It is my belief that candidates who successfully completed the edX Professional Certificate for Virtual Reality Application Development will be at an advantage when applying to Qualcomm’s computer graphics groups.

Ning Bi , Senior Director of Technology Computer Vision Systems, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

At Sixense Entertainment Inc. we need software developers with strong knowledge in the areas of computer graphics and virtual reality. Applicants who successfully completed the edX Professional Certificate for Virtual Reality Application Development will have a significant advantage.

Amir Rubin , CEO, Sixense Entertainment Inc.

At Qualcomm we are working on the next generation of mobile computing devices. Virtual and augmented reality are an important part of it. We value software developers with a strong foundation in 3D computer graphics programming and an understanding of virtual and augmented reality technology. It is my belief that candidates who successfully completed the edX Professional Certificate for Virtual Reality Application Development will be at an advantage when applying to Qualcomm’s computer graphics groups.

Ning Bi , Senior Director of Technology Computer Vision Systems, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

At Sixense Entertainment Inc. we need software developers with strong knowledge in the areas of computer graphics and virtual reality. Applicants who successfully completed the edX Professional Certificate for Virtual Reality Application Development will have a significant advantage.

Amir Rubin , CEO, Sixense Entertainment Inc.

What you will learn

  • Map significant milestones in the emergence of social media
  • Identify how different users are impacted by digital in/accessibility
  • Extrapolate current social trends online and map possible directions in social media
  • Understand how people interpret robots and bots as communicating, social, even emotional, others

Program Overview

Online communication and digital technologies dominate our everyday lives, extend our abilities, and change the way we communicate with each other. This series brings together three Internet Studies MOOCS:

  • NET1x will increase learners’ understandings of social media by looking at the ways networked connectivity let users become ‘social’
  • NET2x further explores the way digital technologies and social media channels impact our daily routines and transform how we live, using people with disability as a case study. Learners will be introduced to the social model of disability and the ways negative attitudes affect digital accessibility and representation.
  • Continuing the theme of human reliance on technologies, NET3x explores how people communicate with robots and bots in everyday life, both now and into the future.

Courses in this program

1
Social Media: How Media Got Social

Course Details
Discover where social media came from, how it became integral to our everyday lives, and how that has changed the way we communicate.

2
Disability and Digital Media: Accessibility, Representation and Inclusion

Course Details
In Disability and Digital Media: Accessibility, Representation and Inclusion , we will explore the relationship between digital technologies and disability in the Internet age.

3
Communicating with Robots and Bots

Course Details
Robots and bots are being developed to populate our homes, workplaces and social spaces, as well as the online spaces we frequent. How do people communicate with robots and bots? What does the future hold for human-robot communication and collaboration

Meet your instructors

Gwyneth Peaty

Gwyneth is a sessional academic in Internet Studies at Curtin University. She completed a PhD exploring the grotesque in popular culture, and her wider research interests include monstrosity, post-humanism, horror and the Gothic.

Eleanor Sandry

Eleanor is a Senior Lecturer in Internet Studies at Curtin University. Her first degree was in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University. More recently, she completed a Masters in Communication Studies followed by a PhD in Communication and Cultural Studies at the University of Western Australia. Her research uses a range of communication theories and philosophies of technology to drive analyses of human-technology interactions and relations. She is particularly interested in the ways human-robot communication, where robots need not be humanlike in form, behaviour or intelligence, can support collaboration between humans and robots to complete joint tasks in the home, at work or in social spaces.

Tama Leaver

Tama Leaver is an Associate Professor of Internet Studies at Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia and a frequent expert media commentator. His research interests include online identity, social media, digital death, infancy online, mobile gaming and the changing landscape of media distribution. He has published in a number of journals including Popular Communication, Media International Australia, First Monday, Comparative Literature Studies, Social Media and Society, Communication Research and Practice and the Fibreculture journal. He is also the author of 'Artificial Culture: Identity, Technology and Bodies' (Routledge, 2012); co-editor of 'An Education in Facebook? Higher Education and the World’s Largest Social Network' (Routledge, 2014) with Mike Kent; and 'Social, Casual and Mobile Games: The Changing Gaming Landscape' (Bloomsbury Academic, 2016) with Michele Willson. Tama has received teaching awards from the University of Western Australia, Curtin University, and in 2012 received a national Australian Award for Teaching Excellence in the Humanities and the Arts.

Katie Ellis

Mike Kent

What you will learn

  • Understand that food security depends on food availability, food access, food utilization and stability
  • How we can produce enough food for everyone
  • How sustainable different food production systems are
  • How to assure access to sufficient, nutritious and safe food for everyone
  • About actors and activities to achieve food security at international, national, local, household, and individual level

Program Overview

Get involved: let’s find a way to feed 9 billion people in 2050

What are the biggest environmental issues we face? Pollution? Climate change? True. But among these environmental topics, feeding the growing population, 9 billion in 2050, is one of the most pressing issues we have to find a solution for.

To solve this problem, we need people to gain knowledge, do research, and explore the options. You can be a piece of the puzzle, help find a solution, and start now by gaining knowledge about food production systems, food security, sustainable development in agriculture and livestock, and systems thinking.

XSeries sustainable food security

How is it possible that the world currently produces enough food for everyone, but still people suffer from hunger and nutrient deficiencies? How can we produce sufficient food in an environmentally sustainable way to feed the increased world population in the future?

This Environmental Studies XSeries, developed by Wageningen University, consists of 3 courses:

The value of systems thinking

Learn about systems thinking and its application to improve the environmental sustainability of food production systems. The main topics are:

  • Complexity and diversity of food production systems
  • Principles of system analysis
  • Evaluation methods for the environmental impact of food production systems
  • Strong and weak points of different food production systems

Crop production

Learn the basics of crop production to feed the world and preserve our planet’s resources. The main topics are:

  • Basic concept of plant production
  • Issues related to global food production and consumption
  • Influences of water (scarcity and availability) and other measures on crop production
  • Processes that cause major problems for the environment
  • Measures to solve and prevent those problems

Food Access

Learn about the basics of food access decision-making from a multilevel perspective. The main topics are:

  • The basic principles of food access
  • Choices influencing food access
  • Dilemmas at household, local, national and international levels

About Wageningen University & Research

At Wageningen University and Research, we are dedicated to exploring the potential of nature to improve the quality of life. Studies and courses train (future) professionals from all over the world in sustainable food systems and help consumers make informed choices about what they eat, how it is produced and the impact of their decisions on the environment and society.

Course structures and certificates

The duration of each course (or MOOC: Massive Open Online Course) is flexible: study any time and place you want. You decide how to spend your time during a course. Gain the knowledge offered in each course free of charge through dynamic modules filled with video, syllabus, and assignments for practice and grading. Obtain your verified certificate for $ 49,- each. After successful completion of all 3 courses, you can obtain an overall certificate.

About course dates

EdX keeps courses available, even if the recent course date has expired. Enroll nonetheless, and allow yourself to explore content and continue learning. However, not all features and materials may be available. Check back often to see when new start dates are announced.

Scroll down to find more information about each separate course and join the Wageningen University XSeries about sustainable food security.

Courses in this program

1
Sustainable Food Security: Crop Production

Course Details
Learn the basics of crop production and find out how to feed the future world population without depleting our planet’s resources!

2
Sustainable Food Security: The value of systems thinking

Course Details
Learn how to solve the 'Rubik's cube' of systems thinking and how it's applied to improve the environmental sustainability of food production systems!

3
Sustainable Food Security: Food Access

Course Details
Learn the basics of food access decision-making. In other words, who decides what ends up on your plate. Spoiler alert: it’s not just you!

Meet your instructors

Eddie Bokkers

Eddie Bokkers holds a PhD in Animal Sciences from Wageningen University. He is an associate professor at the Animal Production Systems group of Professor Imke de Boer. Eddie Bokkers teaches both undergraduate and postgraduate students including the course ‘Systems Approach in Animal Sciences’. That is why we could not find a more suitable person for explaining the systems approach in this MOOC. Eddie Bokkers manages several research projects contributing to our knowledge of sustainable development of animal production systems. He is especially interested in trade-offs and synergies between animal welfare, environmental impact and economics.

Martin van Ittersum

Martin van Ittersum holds a PhD in Agricultural and Environmental Science from Wageningen University. He is a professor at the Plant Production Systems group of the same university. His research and teaching focus on research concepts and methods for the analysis, design and integrated assessment of agricultural systems from field to farm, at regional and global levels. He applies these concepts to investigate opportunities for sustainable intensification of local and global food production. He (co-)developed and applied several of the concepts taught in this MOOC. He is currently co-leading the Global Yield Gap Atlas project that aims to map where and how much food production can be increased on existing agricultural land. He is also involved in research on resource use efficiency and environmental effects of different agricultural systems.

Ken Giller

Prof. Dr. Ken Giller is an outstanding expert in the field of Plant Production Systems. He leads a group of scientists with profound experience in farming systems analysis to explore future scenarios for land use with a focus on food production at Wageningen University. Ken’s research has focused on smallholder farming systems in tropical regions with special attention for sub-Saharan Africa. In particular problems of soil fertility, the role of nitrogen fixation in tropical legumes, and the temporal and spatial dynamics of resources use within crop/livestock farming systems have this interest. He leads a number of large initiatives such as N2Africa (Putting Nitrogen Fixation to Work for Smallholder Farmers in Africa), NUANCES(Nutrient Use in Animal and Cropping Systems: Efficiencies and Scales) and Competing Claims on Natural Resources.

​Harrie Lovenstein

Harrie Lovenstein holds an MSc in tropical agronomy. He has specialized in arid land agriculture and gained hands on experience in o.a. runoff farming, agroforestry systems, and tree propagation techniques. All with common goal: "more crop per drop." He is presently affiliated to the Centre for Sustainable Development and Food Security at WageningenUR and involved in distance learning projects.

Gerrie van de Ven

Gerrie van de Ven holds a PhD in Agricultural Science from Wageningen University. She is employed at the Plant Production Systems Group. Gerrie van de Ven combines teaching and research with a focus on farming systems analysis and optimisation of land use systems. Nutrient cycling, environmental impacts and the interaction between crops and livestock, both in the western world and in Africa, have her special attention. Her scientific work has built on systems analysis and modelling approaches, mainly at the farm and regional level, as taught in this MOOC. She teaches both undergraduate and postgraduate students on these subjects.

Marrit van den Berg

Marrit van den Berg is associate professor at the Development Economics group, Wageningen University, the Netherlands. She studied tropical land use and development economics and obtained her PhD from Wageningen University in 2001.Her research concentrates on the livelihood of rural households in developing countries with special attention for food and nutrition security, (off-farm) diversification, technology adoption, and microfinance. She is involved in several projects assessing the impact of development interventions as project leader and senior researcher. Her teaching concentrates on methods, techniques and data analysis for field research. Her own toolbox includes mainly quantitative methods, such as econometric analysis of large scale surveys, behavioural experiments, and randomized controlled trials . She predominantly works with primary data and has research experience in Latin America, Asia, and Africa.

Hilde Bras

Hilde Bras (1968) is full professor and chair of the Sociology of Consumption and Households Group (SCH) at Wageningen University, the Netherlands. She holds a PhD in Sociology from Utrecht University/ICS. She has published extensively on demographic and life course outcomes, including marriage, fertility, migration and status attainment, on social changes in families and households, and on sibling differences and effects. She received prestigious grants for her work on siblings (VENI, Medium Investment) and for her research on family influences on fertility (VIDI, ASPASIA). She is co-editor-in-chief of The History of the Family: An International Quarterly. Her current research focuses on inequalities in food and nutrition security within and across households, and particularly on the causes and effects of inadequate food access in the life courses of women, children and adolescents.

Jeroen Candel

Jeroen Candel finished a bachelor in Public Administration and Organisational Science and a master in Public Governance (cum laude) at Utrecht University before completing his PhD research entitled 'Putting food on the table: the European Union governance of the wicked problem of food security' at the Public Administration and Policy Group (PAP), Wageningen University, the Netherlands, in April 2016. He currently works as assistant professor at the PAP group. He is interested in emerging forms of food policy and governance and studies these by applying public policy and governance theories. By doing so, he both contributes to theoretical debates and provides concrete suggestions for policymakers and stakeholders. Beside his research, Jeroen coordinates and teaches introductory courses on Public Policy and Governance and European Union politics.

Jessica Duncan

Jessica Duncan is an Assistant Professor in the Rural Sociology Group, Wageningen University. She holds a PhD in Food Policy from City University London and is the author of the book Global Food Security Governance: Civil society engagement in the reformed Committee on World Food Security (Routledge, 2015). She is an Associate Editor of the journal Food Security and the co-chair of the ECPR Food Policy and Governance Research Network. Her research focuses on the social-political dynamics of global norm setting for food security and the ways in which non-state actors participate in policy making processes. She is motivated by transformative governance mechanisms that support pathways to just and sustainable food systems.

Ewout Frankema

Ewout Frankema is professor and chair of Rural and Environmental History at Wageningen University and elected member of the Young Academy of the Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences. His research focuses on a deeper understanding of the long-term economic history of developing regions (Africa, Latin America, Asia). His work is based on a holistic conception of historical evolutionary processes in which he aims to link the distinctive fields of economic and social history, colonial history, rural history, neo-institutional economics, political economy and environmental history. Frankema is a board member of the N.W. Posthumus Institute, the African Economic History Network (AEHN) and the Center for Global Economic History (CGEH), research fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) and editorial board member of the Economic History of Developing Regions (EHDR).

Peter Oosterveer

Peter Oosterveer received his PhD in 2005 at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. His research and teaching is in the field of globalization and sustainability of food production and consumption. His interests are in particular on global public and private governance of food towards sustainability, including labeling and certification of food. Increasing globalisation of food raises difficult challenges in promoting sustainability as distances between producers and consumers are increasing and supply chains are becoming more complex. Conventional national government-based regulation is no longer sufficient and therefore the roles of private and civil society based actors are becoming more important. His research is focusing on these shifts and their consequences for the organisation of the supply chain and the roles of different social actors therein.

Maja Slingerland

Maja Slingerland holds a PhD degree in farming systems (2000), at Wageningen University. She worked for 10 years in research and development in west Africa. She initiated and coordinated large interdisciplinary research programmes: micronutrients (China, Benin, Burkina Faso); competing claims on natural resources (southern Africa, Brazil) and sustainable oil palm (Indonesia, Thailand). She is member of the steering committee of WU strategic funded interdisciplinary programmes "Scaling and Governance" and "Smart and Sustainable Food production" and of two interdisciplinary research programmes on conflict and climate change of the Dutch Science Foundation. She supervises PhD and Master studies, participates in public debates and published over 100 articles and book chapters in scientific and popular journals. She teaches a global food security course.

Sietze Vellema

Sietze Vellema is associate professor at the Knowledge, Technology and Innovation group, Wageningen University, and senior researcher at the Partnerships Resource Centre, Rotterdam School of Management, the Netherlands. Sietze’s interest is to understand why and how different actors collaborate in solving organisational, managerial, and technical problems related to inclusive development and sustainable food provision. He studies partnerships, certification, and institutional arrangements in agri-food chains and supervises PhD candidates in different fields: collective action in oil palm, shea, and sesame in West Africa; trading practices in East and West Africa; food safety and consumer practices in Southeast Asia; labels, governance and service delivery in global commodity trade; coordination and diversity in banana production in Asia. He leads action research focusing on value chains, partnerships, poverty, and food security in Africa.

I.J.M. de Boer

Professor Imke de Boer holds a PhD in Animal Sciences from Wageningen University. Since 2011, she leads the Animal Production Systems (APS) group at Wageningen University. This chair group uses system analysis to scientifically underpin sustainable development of animal production systems. They focus on exploring the multi-dimensional, and sometimes conflicting, consequences of innovations in livestock systems across the world, with special focus on their impact on the environment, animal welfare and livelihood of people. Imke de Boer teaches both undergraduate and postgraduate students, and supervises many PhD students in this knowledge domain.

Carolien Kroeze

Professor Carolien Kroeze is personal professor in the Environmental Systems Analysis Group at Wageningen University, specialized in pollution management. She has also been professor at the Open University of the Netherlands. Her research includes scenario analyses and evaluation of environmental policies aiming at reducing multiple environmental problems simultaneously. Carolien Kroeze co-developed environmental models studying environmental problems caused by food production, and options to reduce these problems. These models typically integrated information from the natural and social sciences.

About this course

This course explores how anyone can be a successful startup entrepreneur or corporate innovator by thoughtfully examining themselves and the business opportunity. By harnessing these insights and cultivating an entrepreneurial spirit, you can create and transform an entrepreneurial idea into a new startup company or corporate venture.

Over 800,000 people have used The Opportunity Analysis Canvas that is the basis of this course. Designed by Dr. James V. Green, the lead faculty for this course, this unique model equips you to identify and analyze a new business opportunity that aligns with your startup entrepreneurship or corporate innovation interests.

The Opportunity Analysis Canvas distills vast amounts of research in psychology, sociology, and business into a practical how-to guide for aspiring and active entrepreneurs and innovators. The course presents a whole new understanding of entrepreneurial mindset and action. The course is structured as a nine-step experience segmented into thinking entrepreneurially, seeing entrepreneurially, and acting entrepreneurially.

What you’ll learn

  • Develop the skills for identifying and analyzing entrepreneurial ideas;
  • Foster thinking entrepreneurially with an awareness of entrepreneurial mindset, entrepreneurial motivation, and entrepreneurial behavior;
  • Cultivate seeing entrepreneurially with attention to industry conditions, industry status, macroeconomic change, and competition; and
  • Champion acting entrepreneurially with an understanding of value innovation and opportunity identification.

Courses in this program

1
Identifying Entrepreneurial Opportunities

Course Details
Learn today’s newest skills and tools for identifying and acting on entrepreneurial opportunities for startup companies and corporate innovations

2
Creating Innovative Business Models

Course Details
Build your capabilities to create a value proposition, team strategy, market strategy, and financial strategy to transform your ideas into a startup company or innovative corporate venture

3
Marketing Innovative Products and Services

Course Details
Learn essential marketing concepts and practical commercialization strategies to bring your new venture to market

4
Financing Innovative Ventures

Course Details
Demystify key financial concepts for creating a financial plan for your new venture to raise the right funding from the right partners at the right time

Meet your instructors

Michael Pratt

Michael Pratt teaches and mentors students in the University of Maryland's Master’s in Technology Entrepreneurship and undergraduate programs. His career spans over 35 years in management and finance, in both domestic and international organizations. In two decades with startups and venture capital, he’s raised over $100 million for eleven different startup. Michael is the co-founder and Managing Partner in Select Venture Partners LLC, an early stage, post-seed/pre-Series A investment management firm. Prior to co-founding Select, he was co-founder and CEO of SpydrSafe Mobile Security, Inc., a mobile application security management platform that safeguarded enterprise data by controlling apps on smartphones and tablets (iOS and Android). SpydrSafe was acquired in February 2014. Prior to SpydrSafe, he was COO of CardStar, Inc., a mobile loyalty company sold to Constant Contact (NASDAQ: CTCT). From 2006 to 2010, Michael was the CFO/COO of Trust Digital, Inc., a venture-backed Mobile Device Management company sold to McAfee (NYSE: MFE). Prior to Trust, he was CFO of Galt Associates, Inc., a venture-backed software company sold to Cerner Corporation (NASDAQ: CERN) in July 2006. His earlier professional experience includes CEO of CrossMedia Networks Corp.; CEO of Point of Care Technologies (sold to Siemens Healthcare in 1999); various senior finance and operating roles with Mobil Corporation, including President and General Manager of three Mobil subsidiaries. Michael began his professional career with Arthur Andersen & Co. Michael holds a BS in Finance from East Carolina University, an MBA from Massey University in New Zealand, and an MS in Marketing from Johns Hopkins University.

Lola Koiki

Lola Koiki is a senior product manager at Capital One with responsibility for leading the development, launch, and commercialization of Emerging Payments, which encompasses U.S. Real-Time Payments, Payment Infrastructure Modernization, and Payments Innovation. She is currently leading Capital One’s effort to join the first new payments clearing system in the United States in over 40 years, while developing an enterprise-wide consistent strategy for faster payment capabilities across the company. In addition to her work at Capital One, she is a partner at PoyntFour, a Product Management and Delivery Consultancy based in the DC area, with a focus on pre-seed to series startups and mid-size government agencies looking to build high efficiency teams. She is also a Lecturer with the University of Maryland’s Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute. In her time at University of Maryland, she has taught over 500 undergraduate students, many of which have gone on to launch new ventures or work in start-ups. She is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, with a Masters in Information Systems Management. She holds a BS in Marketing and Supply Chain Management from the University of Maryland. She currently lives in Washington DC and volunteers with organizations in the area, such as The Neighborhood Well, a non-profit focused on helping the unstably housed in the DC Area, and Acts1038, a non-profit focused on education and career development for immigrants to the United States.

James Green

Dr. James V. Green leads the education activities of the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute as the Director of Entrepreneurship Education. He is responsible for designing and teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in entrepreneurship and technology commercialization, leading seed funding programs, and managing residential entrepreneurship programs for students. He directs the Master of Professional Studies in Technology Entrepreneurship, an innovative online degree program enrolling students worldwide. In 2011, he earned first prize in the 3E Learning Innovative Entrepreneurship Education Competition presented at the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) annual conference to recognize college educators who have created new and challenging learning activities that actively involve students in the entrepreneurial experience. Dr. Green's research interests include entrepreneurship education and the psychology of entrepreneurship. He is a national presenter on entrepreneurship education with refereed papers and presentations at conferences for the Academy of Management (AOM), the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE), the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), and the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA). Dr. Green serves as the Editor for the ASEE Entrepreneurship Division and as an evaluator for annual conference submissions. Prior to the University of Maryland, Dr. Green held founder, executive, and operational roles with multiple startups to include WaveCrest Laboratories (an innovator in next-generation electric and hybrid-electric propulsion and drive systems), Cyveillance (a software startup and world leader in cyber intelligence and intelligence-led security), and NetMentors.Org (the first national online career development eMentoring community). Dr. Green earned a Doctor of Management and an MS in Technology Management from the University of Maryland University College, an MBA from the University of Michigan, and a BS in Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Connect with Dr. Green on LinkedIn.

What you will learn

  • Describe what networking is and how it can help you reach your professional goals.
  • Identify your goals for networking.
  • Introduce yourself in English, keep a conversation going, and leave the conversation.
  • Write professional emails to make new contacts and follow up with people in your network.
  • Identify your network and your unique characteristics and skills.
  • Use LinkedIn and business cards to make and maintain connections with your network.
  • Use informational interviews to expand your network.

Courses in this program

1
Conducting an Informational Interview

Course Details
This is the capstone networking course. Put all the skills that you have learned into practice. You’ll introduce yourself, write effective email, highlight your best qualities, and conduct an informational interview with a person of your choice.

2
Preparing to Network in English

Course Details
Learn the basics of networking while you grow your social network and professional connections. Practice speaking to improve your English language skills for increased success in job hunting.

3
Using Email for Networking in English

Course Details
Improve your writing skills. Write effective emails including great subject lines, greetings, and closings. You’ll be more confident as you communicate for business, send messages, expand your network, and search for jobs in English.

4
Attending a Networking Event

Course Details
Improve your ability to meet new people. Learn to give an “elevator pitch” (speech) to introduce yourself to new people and to highlight your key qualities. Make connections with people and use your skills to attend a networking event.

Meet your instructors

Daphne Mackey

Daphne Mackey is an ESL teacher and the author of sixteen ESL textbooks. Daphne received her M.Ed. and MBA at Boston University, where she taught in the Center for English Language Programs (CELOP) for nine years. For the past thirty years, she has been working in the English Language Programs at the University of Washington. She has also taught in the MBA program at Pacific Lutheran University and done training in multicultural/global team management at northwest companies. In her free time, Daphne enjoys sailing and hiking with her family.

Joel Ozretich

Joel Ozretich has over 15 years of experience teaching English in both in the US and abroad in South Korea and Japan. Since 2006, he has been teaching at the University of Washington where he specializes in teaching Business English courses such as Marketing for International Professionals, Writing for Business, and Business Communications. Prior to teaching, he worked as a reporter at the Puget Sound Business Journal in Seattle. He holds a Master’s in Teaching ESOL and Bachelor’s undergraduate degrees in Broadcast Journalism and International Studies from the University of Washington.

Richard Moore

Richard Moore is a lecturer in the International and English Language Programs at the University of Washington in Seattle. He has been a teacher for over 20 years. He is originally from England just outside of London, and has taught English in the U.K., Australia, and Korea. Richard decided to become a teacher of English because he loves languages, traveling and working with different groups of people from around the world.

Program endorsements

In today’s global arena, the ability to collaborate effectively with others is an essential competency for professionals. Mastering the listening and communication skills involved requires an investment in learning and practice. The benefits include building a rich personal network to support your personal and professional objectives, leveraging the resources and talent of teams, and establishing understanding and trust that translates into productive working relationships. Our mission at Fluency Group is empowering people and organizations to communicate, collaborate and perform on the global stage to achieve their goals, and we’re happy to support this valuable program by the University of Washington which supports this endeavor.

Heidi Schumann , CEO, Fluency Group

In today’s global arena, the ability to collaborate effectively with others is an essential competency for professionals. Mastering the listening and communication skills involved requires an investment in learning and practice. The benefits include building a rich personal network to support your personal and professional objectives, leveraging the resources and talent of teams, and establishing understanding and trust that translates into productive working relationships. Our mission at Fluency Group is empowering people and organizations to communicate, collaborate and perform on the global stage to achieve their goals, and we’re happy to support this valuable program by the University of Washington which supports this endeavor.

Heidi Schumann , CEO, Fluency Group

Program Overview

This XSeries Program has been designed to influence, empower and educate a wider population to improve the health and healthcare of people with intellectual disability.

Worldwide, 60+ million people with intellectual disability experience poor health, die prematurely and receive inadequate healthcare. You will gain an understanding of the barriers and enablers for people with intellectual disability, their families, and their healthcare providers.

In our courses, you will learn about best practice in the field of intellectual disability healthcare and gain knowledge to improve health outcomes for this disadvantaged group.

What you will learn

  • What is the experience of people with intellectual disability around the world, what barriers do they face, and how do they overcome these?
  • What are their healthcare needs and how can good health be promoted?
  • What health conditions do they commonly experience and how can these be assessed and managed?
  • What influence do other factors such as ageing and epilepsy have on their health?
  • What mental health issues do they have and how can these be recognised and managed?
  • What are some of the ethical and legal issues that are of particular relevance to them?

Program class list

1
Through My Eyes - Intellectual Disability Healthcare around the World

Course Details
Learn, from personal stories, the daily life and challenges faced by those with intellectual disabilities.

2
Well and Able - Improving the Physical Health of People with Intellectual Disability

Course Details
Learn how to help those with intellectual disability achieve better health.

3
Able-Minded - Mental Health and People with Intellectual Disability

Course Details
Gain an understanding of mental health issues and ethical decision-making for people with intellectual disability.

Meet your instructors

Miriam Taylor

Miriam is the former Education Coordinator at the Queensland Centre for Intellectual and Developmental Disability in the School of Medicine at the University of Queensland. She has a wealth of educational design experience for multi-users including people with intellectual disability, their families, disability organisations and health practitioners. Miriam has established an ongoing international collaboration with and is an invited contributor to the first World Disability Report for the World Health Organisation.

Nicholas Lennox

Nick is the former Director of the Queensland Centre for Intellectual and Developmental Disability at the University of Queensland. He is a researcher, educator, advocate and clinician and has specialised in the health of adults with intellectual disability since 1992. He is trained in general practice, and has developed interventions to improve the health of people with intellectual disability.

What you will learn

  • Develop and debug code in the C programming language
  • Discover the foundations of computer programming and Linux, manipulate the command line, manage processes, files and memory, and compile C code with Linux
  • Interpret, analyze, and implement important computer algorithms
  • Observe, manipulate, and optimize computer memory using pointers in the C programming language

Program Overview

In this C Programming with Linux Professional Certificate program of seven short courses, you will learn how to write, read and debug computer programs in the C programming language while also becoming familiar with the Linux operating system.

Beginners, even those without any programming experience, will be able to immediately start coding in C through our new coding tools within the web browser. No need to install anything!

Why learn C and not another programming language? Did you know that smartphones, your car’s navigation system, robots, drones, trains, and almost all electronic devices have some C-code running under the hood? C is used in any circumstance where speed and flexibility are important, such as in embedded systems or high-performance computing.

C is a foundational programming language taught at engineering schools around the world, and represents one of the building blocks of modern computer information technology. Invented in the 1970’s. It is still one of the most stable and popular programming languages in the world.

Along with the C programming language comes Linux, an essential operating system used by most computer scientists and developers. Linux powers almost all supercomputers and most of the servers worldwide as well as all android devices and most internet of things devices. This Professional Certificate Program will introduce the Linux command line and Linux tools for C programmers; both of which are must-have skills in today’s tech industries.

You will practice through guided exercises and short coding demonstrations, as well as more elaborate assignments.

Our dedicated international course team is excited to introduce you to the world of coding and guide you along your path to becoming a skilled C programmer and help you pursue a career in computer engineering.

This course has received financial support from the Patrick and Lina Drahi Foundation.

Courses

1
C Programming: Getting Started

Course Details
Start learning one of the most powerful and widely used programming languages: C.

2
C Programming: Language Foundations

Course Details
Master foundational concepts in the C programming language such as logical statements and arrays.

3
C Programming: Modular Programming and Memory Management

Course Details
Enhance your coding skills along your path to becoming a proficient C programmer with the essential concepts of functions and pointers. Receive instant feedback on your code right within your browser.

4
C Programming: Pointers and Memory Management

Course Details
Continue building your coding skills along your path to becoming a proficient C programmer by mastering the concept of pointers and memory management. Receive instant feedback on your code right within your browser.

5
C Programming: Advanced Data Types

Course Details
Master effective ways to store your data in the C programming language using advanced data types such as structures and linked lists. Receive instant feedback on your code right within your browser.

6
Linux Basics: The Command Line Interface

Course Details
Learn the Linux Command Line interface and become a skilled user of this powerful operating system.

7
C Programming: Using Linux Tools and Libraries

Course Details
Learn how to use professional tools and libraries to write and build C programs within the Linux operating system. Receive instant feedback on your code right within your browser.

Meet your instructors

Petra Bonfert-Taylor

Petra Bonfert-Taylor is a Professor and an Instructional Designer at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College. She received her Ph.D. in Mathematics from Technical University of Berlin (Germany) in 1996 and subsequently spent three years as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan before accepting a tenure-track position in the Mathematics Department at Wesleyan University. She left Wesleyan as a tenured full professor in 2015 for her current position at Dartmouth College. Petra has published extensively and lectured widely to national and international audiences. Her work has been recognized by the National Science Foundation with numerous research grants. She is equally passionate about her teaching.The recipient of the Binswanger Prize for Excellence in Teaching at Wesleyan University, the Excellence in Teaching Award at the Thayer School of Engineering and the NH High Tech Council Tech Teacher of the Year Award, Petra has a strong interest in broadening access to high-quality higher education and pedagogical innovations that aid in providing equal opportunities to students from all backgrounds.

Rémi Sharrock

Rémi Sharrock is an associate professor at Telecom ParisTech, IMT, France. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the National Polytechnic Institute of Toulouse, France in 2010. Rémi’s main research focuses on large scale distributed systems and autonomic computing, as well as their applications to learning at scale. He’s passionate about innovative tools for online learning and has received the “MOOC of the year prize” for two of his french courses on C programming and Linux.

Program Endorsements

We are delighted to support Télécom ParisTech and Dartmouth College in the creation of MOOCs dedicated to “Programming in C with Linux”. Software has an increasingly large footprint in our research, products, and solutions and C and Linux are instrumental for much of the software development at Nokia and in the industry at large. We are convinced that “Programming in C Using Linux” will have great relevance for the industrial and academic software communities.

Jean-Luc Beylat , Chairman, Nokia Bell Labs, France

Learners of this Professional Certificate will be ready to face challenges in the world of interconnected objects sharing their data. Airbus has a large catalogue of products, from aircraft to satellites, in communication and geographical data delivery services. Increasingly, Airbus factories and products are connected using Linux leading to this operating system becoming even more widely used. “Programming in C with Linux” supports building essential programming skills to work in today’s industries.

Florence Dufrasnes , Head of Technical Office, Airbus

The combined expertise of our employees have made Thales a key player in keeping the public safe and secure through developing world-class technologies. In our increasingly connected world, software defines everything and the “Programming in C with Linux” Professional Certificate will provide current and potential programmers the skills to contribute to the software of tomorrow. Thales strongly supports the “Programming in C with Linux” program.

Cédric Demeure , VP, R&T, France

We are delighted to support Télécom ParisTech and Dartmouth College in the creation of MOOCs dedicated to “Programming in C with Linux”. Software has an increasingly large footprint in our research, products, and solutions and C and Linux are instrumental for much of the software development at Nokia and in the industry at large. We are convinced that “Programming in C Using Linux” will have great relevance for the industrial and academic software communities.

Jean-Luc Beylat , Chairman, Nokia Bell Labs, France

Learners of this Professional Certificate will be ready to face challenges in the world of interconnected objects sharing their data. Airbus has a large catalogue of products, from aircraft to satellites, in communication and geographical data delivery services. Increasingly, Airbus factories and products are connected using Linux leading to this operating system becoming even more widely used. “Programming in C with Linux” supports building essential programming skills to work in today’s industries.

Florence Dufrasnes , Head of Technical Office, Airbus

The combined expertise of our employees have made Thales a key player in keeping the public safe and secure through developing world-class technologies. In our increasingly connected world, software defines everything and the “Programming in C with Linux” Professional Certificate will provide current and potential programmers the skills to contribute to the software of tomorrow. Thales strongly supports the “Programming in C with Linux” program.

Cédric Demeure , VP, R&T, France