MOOC "Essentials in Development Studies" Autumn 2025

Course dates

25 August 2025 – 11 December 2025

Registration period

25 August 2025 – 20 November 2025

Coordinating university

University of Jyväskylä

Instructors

Happy Tirivangasi

Credits

5 ECTS

Register

Course dates: 25.8 - 11.12.2025
Registration dates: 25.8 - 20.11.2025
Coordinating university: University of Jyväskylä Course code in Sisu: DEVM5004
Responsible teacher: Happy Tirivangasi (if.uyj@isagnavirit.m.yppah)
Credits: 5 ECTS

Please read the information below carefully before registering.

• MOOC Essentials in Development Studies in a nutshell!

Welcome to the Essentials in Development Studies, a MOOC course created by UniPID, in collaboration with the discipline of Development Studies at the University of Helsinki and the University of Jyväskylä.

The MOOC is part of the Virtual Studies Programme, as well as the University of Jyväskylä's course syllabus. It is held in English and worth 5 ETCs.

Essentials in Development Studies is an online course offered on the DigiCampus platform. The principal target group is master-level students in UniPID member universities. However, the course can be also taken by bachelor students as well as PhD researchers. Additionally the MOOC course is open for all interested participants, such as people working in the field of development policy and/or development cooperation.

Course materials are available to everyone without official enrollment. However, if you aim to obtain the course credits, you must enroll in the course through ILPO or Sisu (JYU students) once you complete the course assignments in DigiCampus.

The certificate of completions (course credits) is free of charge for the degree students of the University of Jyväskylä and for all that study in UniPID member universities. For others, course fee is €100.

• Registration and course completion

You can access the course content through self-enrollment. Please visit the DigiCampus page of the course here: https://digicampus.fi/course/view.php?id=6226 and enter the key: Essentials_autumn25 (as it is case-sensitive, please pay attention to the capital letter "E").

• IMPORTANT: If you are affiliated to a UniPID member university, please enroll in DigiCampus using your institutional email account. Only students who complete the course with their institutional email will receive the voucher code. Without this code, you will not be able to obtain your certificate of completion free of charge.

Self-enrolment is available from 25 August to 20 November 2025. The Digicampus page for the course will remain accessible until 11 December 2025.

The course content and materials are open access, meaning the course is available to anyone interested in development studies, regardless of institutional affiliation. Access is granted to all participants, even if they do not require credits or a certificate. In such cases, you are not expected to complete the assessment activities.

However, if you aim to receive a certificate of completion, please ensure that you complete all required activities by 11 December 2025. After that, you must register to obtain the certificate of completion through the links that will become available in DigiCampus once you have completed all course assessments and quizzes.

Further instructions about requesting the certificate will be visible on DigiCampus after completing the whole MOOC content, and in the section below.

• Requesting a certificate of completion or certificate of participation

Please be aware that requesting the certificate of completions (course credits) is free of charge for the degree students of the University of Jyväskylä and for all that study in UniPID member universities. For others, course fee is €100.

Once you complete all the assessment activities and pass the quizzes, a new section will appear on the Digicampus platform titled, “If you want to receive credits for the course, see registration instructions below.”

This section contains three subsections with enrollment instructions that vary depending on your affiliation. Please read them carefully and follow the instructions that best apply to your case.

The three subsections are as follows:

• Students NOT affiliated to UniPID member universities: Enroll via ILPO and pay the €100 fee.
• UniPID member universities’ students: After completing all course assignments, UniPID Virtual Studies Coordination will contact you within 10 days with a voucher code for the ILPO platform. This means you enroll via ILPO but do not need to pay the €100 enrolment fee.
  • It is very important that you register in DigiCampus using your institutional email account. Otherwise, you will not receive the code.

• University of Jyväskylä’s students: Enroll directly through Sisu. No enrolment via ILPO is required.

You can read the detailed course instructions here!

• MOOC content and learning outcomes

The course consists of 5 modules:

• What is Development?
• Major theories of Development
• Actors, institutions and policies of Development
• Current topics in Development studies
• Reflections on Development and alternatives

Objective: Provide students with fundamentals to the multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary discipline of development studies and motivate students to further their knowledge in the field.

During the course, the students will:

• Distinguish between development as a historical process of change and as an international intervention with defined outcomes;
• Be familiar with selected/major theories of development;
• Identify and analyse actors, institutions, and policies of development;
• Be acquainted with current debates on development studies or development research;
• Reflect development from conventional, critical and alternative perspectives as well as from the point of view of inclusion and exclusion.

For further information, you can contact Ana Tarazona (if.iknisleh@sivlaganozarat.ana).

Virtual Studies Course Catalogue →