The University of Navarra has launched its first five MOOCs with the goal to promote free virtual higher Education . MOOC is the acronym for Massive Online Open Courses, whose main characteristics are unlimited enrollment issue , that they are taught entirely over the Internet and that they are open and free.

The University has launched a pilot project consisting of five short courses, divided into teaching units that require from 8 to 12 hours of dedication from student, distributed between 2 and 4 weeks. The programs are composed of videos, accompanied by complementary documentation, assessment tests and, in some cases, forums or blogs.
 

According to Borja López JuradoVice President from Office of Academic Affairsthe main goal of the academic center with these courses is "fulfill the mission statement as a University, giving access to quality content to everyone.". The programs can be specialized or generalist, and aimed at different audiences: students, alumni, specialized audiences or the general population. "They seek the learning of student through different resources (videos, texts, etc.) and from anywhere in the world," he explains.

Courses on viruses, essay on the Internet or common law

The pilot project launched by the University of Navarra consists of three courses in Spanish and two in English. The first group includes the programs "Pandemics: new viral infections", which provides answers to questions such as what a virus is, how it is transmitted and how it can be controlled, and which is designed for both students of high school diploma and Degree, as well as the general public; "essay on the Internet", aimed at professionals, students or users with some experience on the Internet; and "teaching at enquiry and in the hospital environment", aimed at doctors who want to acquire knowledge for teaching at enquiry and in hospitals.

On the other hand, there are the courses "Logic and Paradoxes", aimed at philosophers, students of Degree and people interested in Philosophy; and "The life of the Law", aimed at lawyers, students of Degree, students of pre-Degree and people interested in Common Law or Anglo-Saxon law.

The academic center has also opened a call to launch 10 new MOOCs of varied content for the coming academic year. The registration of the open courses can be made through the web.