Who we are
The University's Short Online Courses (OC) Programme has an established, wide ranging portfolio of non-credit bearing, online courses which includes private courses for our students and external-facing courses for global audiences.
We work collaboratively with academics, Professional Services colleagues, and students from across the University. We also collaborate with external partners such as the British Council, the Royal Meteorological Society, Royal Historic Palaces and EIT Food.
As one of the original partners of FutureLearn, a UK based digital education platform, we have created over 50 courses, attracting more than 1.6 million enrolments from learners in over 160 countries. Explore our wide range of short online courses on topics such as Ancient Rome, Heart Health, Climate Change, Teaching in Schools and Aging Well.
Do you have an idea for a new short online course? Would like to find out more about collaborating with the Online Courses Team? Please contact Nicky Mcgirr: n.mcgirr@reading.ac.uk
What we do
The Online Courses Team has extensive expertise in creating innovative, engaging, high-quality stand-alone courses tailored for target audiences. We work in partnership with colleagues to foster a shared sense of ownership and commitment towards developing a high-quality learning experience.
Our team combines expertise in:
- Online pedagogy and leaning design;
- Learner engagement;
- Digital course production;
- Accessibility and inclusive practice;
- Project management,
- Digital learning resources.
We are extremely proud of the achievements of our Online Courses Programme over the past 10 years, made possible through the talent and innovation of our colleagues and the curiosity and application of our online learners. This project has redefined what is possible in online education and opened up the transformative power of University of Reading learning to students worldwide.
Vice-Chancellor, Robert Van de Noort
Why work with us
Working with the Online Courses team means:
- Pedagogical expertise – Translating subject expertise into effective online learning.
- End-to-end support – Guidance from initial proposal and scoping through to launch and review.
- Audience-focused design – Courses designed for engagement, accessibility, and impact.
- Strategic alignment – Support for recruitment, research dissemination, Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
- Proven delivery – Experience working across disciplines and with external partners.
