Virtual education

1MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are often run by experts in a given field. They were initially created in the USA, before they grew to become a global phenomenon by the end of 2012. That year, researchers involved in the Network of Excellence in Engineering Sciences of the French-speaking Community (Rescif, www.rescif.net) decided to take the plunge and create a MOOC on the topic of “Rivers and Humans”. The idea was to showcase theoretical and applied knowledge in terms of hydrology and geomorphology, based on five-week sessions.

2Launched in 2014 and renewed in the autumn of each year, this MOOC is the first online course created in conjunction with experts from the Global North and South. Ten researchers present theoretical concepts based on actual case studies, notably in Mexico, Benin, Vietnam and Ecuador. The knowledge taught can be transposed to most countries of the world, hence the popularity of this MOOC, which has been used by about 10,000 people from 85 countries. The participants are students, technicians, but also private citizens wishing to have a better understanding of the meaning of their everyday actions.

3This MOOC, which teaches unusual, even non-existing subjects in certain contexts of the Global South, is available in French, English, Vietnamese and Spanish. It is notably used in Vietnam by research lecturers to provide education combining online with in-person learning methods. Other MOOCs have since been created in conjunction with IRD, including “Climate Change Causes and Issues” in 2015, “Malaria” in 2016, “Medical Entomology” in 2017 and “Sustainable Development Goals” in 2018, which was voted best academic MOOC of the year.