(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula
DOHA: Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), a member of Qatar Foundation, and edX, a non-profit online learning platform founded by Harvard and MIT, have signed an agreement recently.
It will position the university as the first in the Middle East to provide interdisciplinary courses through the online platform. The courses will be accessible to millions of students around the world.
Dr Ahmad M Hasnah, President of HBKU, and Dr Anant Agarwal, Founder and CEO of edX and MIT professor, announced the partnership at an official signing ceremony in the city of Boston in US. The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the edX Global Forum, recently. The annual gathering brings together edX's partner network of senior leaders and digital learning innovators from the world's leading universities and organisations to share knowledge, exchange ideas and collectively design the future of education.
Dr Hasnah, said, 'We invite students from across the globe to take advantage of innovative ways of accessing knowledge, both of which will provide an unprecedented opportunity for working professionals to advance their careers.
'Both edX and HBKU share a mission to increase access to high-quality education for all learners, everywhere, in fields that tackle the challenges society faces at a global level. These include the need to identify new and innovative ways to provide sustainable energy, which is addressed in HBKU's Professional Certificate programme, said edX CEO and MIT Professor Anant Agarwal.
HBKU's agreement with edX underscores its commitment to pursuing local and international collaborations to promote a truly global educational experience and breaks down academic silos. Through its various strategic partnerships, the University aims to make quality academic research programs and courses accessible to students in Qatar and the rest of the world.
The first programme 'Solar Energy in Hot Desert Climates offered by HBKU on the edX platform focuses on advancing sustainable energy and combating global warming. Prospective students can now enroll for HBKU's Professional Certificate program on edX, which will commence on January 7, 2019. The programs consist of two MOOCs: ‘Solar Resource Assessment in Desert Climates' and ‘Using Photovoltaic Technology in Desert Climates'.
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