In recent years we have witnessed a great growth of MOOCs, (Massive Open Online Courses): online courses that can be followed by anyone, for free or by paying a paltry fees, organized by universities or experts.
Many universities in the world are involved in important projects and platform dedicated to this kind of training are constantly growing, as well as the registered users. From the analysis of available data emerge important numbers: there are thousands of online courses and million students enrolled.
The evolution of the labor market and the new technologies have revolutionized the methods of learning and training personnel, changing the mindset of the same workers that today, unlike what happened in the past, are forced to continuously improve and reinvent themselves to address the high professional competition resulting from globalization. The numbers prove it: the majority of those enrolled in online courses are professional workers, already graduates.
Of course the benefits offered to students who can learn and compare with an international community exchanging ideas, thoughts and knowledge in an international multicultural context are remarkable.
According to data published in a Docebo’s report (link: https://www.docebo.com/it/) in 2014, the global e-learning market will reach 51 billion dollars in 2016. Not only that, the report identifies the growing Asian market, set to overtake that of Europe, currently in second place, and the South American. At the first place we find the North American market, where the amount spent for e-learning is higher than in any other part of the world and from which started the MOOCs revolution.
The MOOCs in Italy
Even in Italy we are witnessing an increase in MOOCs, however they are often poorly organized with an insufficient level, so much so that some Italian universities have decided to adhere to foreign platforms and many private companies offer the opportunity to purchase online courses. What really missing is a platform that offers alternative career paths, university courses and depth lessons, with a high level of quality.
In this context, in January 2015, was founded Master University, with the goal of providing education free or very low cost, accessible to anyone, anytime. Great importance was given to the technical quality of video courses and teachers involved, from both the academic world and the professional, with high skills and capacity. Master University allows anyone to join as a teacher, but his request will be evaluated by the technical team that guarantees the quality and competence in education.
The target is the professional who wants improve skills as well as students or the unemployed who want to find new opportunities and ideas to be realized. The ambitious goal of the Master University is to provide innovative career paths, in line with market trends and global developments alongside a university education.
The interest of companies in online courses
Of great importance, is the interest of companies in the online courses. In fact, the need to have staff constantly trained and updated appears in the foreground. Again, in the Docebo’s report is highlighted the growth of outsourcing, arrived to cover over 40% of total expenditure. In this context, it is the e-learning to register a steady growth thanks to the usability of the online content. Companies are increasingly open to online training solutions and above all increasingly aware of the importance of the staff training. The low cost of e-learning solutions is the major thrust towards the adoption of these solutions, as they eliminate the costs relating to travel, accommodation etc … Another advantage for online training.