MOOC "Essentials in Development Studies" Spring 2025

This Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) in Essentials in Development Studies aims to provide students with fundamentals to the multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary discipline of development studies and motivate students to further their knowledge in the field.

5 ECTS Credits — Studies start 13 January 2025 — University of Helsinki

Course dates

13 January 2025 – 28 February 2025

Registration period

13 January 2025 – 12 February 2025

Coordinating university

University of Helsinki

Instructors

Ossi Ollinaho

Credits

5 ECTS

Course dates: 13.1 - 28.2.2025
Registration dates: 13.1 - 12.2.2025
Coordinating university: University of Helsinki, Master's Programme in Society and Change
Course code: YMV-K516
Responsible teacher: Ossi Ollinaho ()
Credits: 5 ECTS
Language of instruction: English

Registration for this course is through self-enrollment. To register, please visit the DigiCampus page of the course here: https://digicampus.fi/course/view.php?id=5853 and enter the key: Essentials_spring2025 (as it is case-sensitive, please pay attention to the capital letter "E").

You can register for this course from the 13th of January until the 12th of February 2025. Please note that neither registrations nor participation in the assessment activities are allowed after this deadline. Therefore, if you aim to obtain the credits, make sure to complete all activities by the 28th of February.

Please read the information below carefully before registering.

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 Helsinki's course syllabus. It is held in English and worth 5 ETCS.

Course summary

Essentials in Development Studies is an online course offered on the DigiCampus platform. 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

Learning outcomes

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.

Completion methods

Successful completion requires reading or listening to the learning material independently and completing the assessment activities, including quizzes after each module.

Study material

The learning content includes reading material, video lectures, reflective assignments and other material such as listening to podcast episodes. All the compulsory course material is open access. Each module also has recommendations for extra material for those who are interested in studying more.

Assessment criteria

The course is graded on a scale of 1 to 5 based on the completed assessment activities, including quizzes after each module. The grades will be recorded in the SISU system. Final grading will be done at the end of the course, after enrolling via the Open University.

Target group

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.

Additional information

Please note that, as a MOOC course, no prior registration is required. You can access the content on DigiCampus here.

The MOOC content is available to anyone interested in Development Studies, regardless of affiliation. However, if you wish to earn the credits (5 ECTS), you must register through the Open University upon completing the course. The certificate of completion is free of charge for degree students from UniPID member universities, while others must pay a course fee of €75. Further instructions about requesting the certificate will be visible on DigiCampus after completing the whole MOOC content.

For further information, you can contact Ana Tarazona ().

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