International online-courses with strong links to the most successful research environments and tailor-made for professionals at work will be offered at Karlstad University thanks to a development project in conjunction with a number of leading companies and the support of the KK Foundation.
The KK Foundation has granted Karlstad University 6 million SEK for the period 2017-2019 to develop and carry out net-based cutting edge Master–level courses, developed in close cooperation with leading companies in different branches, for example, Valmet, BillerudKorsnäs, MacForum and Idea2Innovation Sweden. The courses are to be designed by researchers in the university’s strongest research environments Center of Service Research (CTF), Computer Science (CS), and Characterization and Modeling of Materials (CMM). Some examples of courses offered in 2018 are idea management, strength of materials and manufacturing technology, and personal integrity and computer network security.
“Karlstad University’s strategy is to strengthen the links between research and education and develop learning through IT tools. The students can choose to take the courses in the form of open online courses, so called massive open online courses, or as credit-awarding university courses. The courses will be marketed in various international databases, which means that Karlstad University will be more visible internationally. Our primary target group is employees and therefore we develop the courses in close cooperation with different companies,” says the project leader, Jörg Pareigis, senior lecturer at Karlstad Business School and a CTF member.
The courses will combine technology and pedagogy in ways that support learning and enhance the quality of the courses. They can, for instance, include short video films, social media for group discussions or on-line meetings.
Besides the project leader, Jörg Pareigis, the following persons are part of the project: Stefan Alfredsson, researcher in computer networking, Anders Gåård, researcher in materials engineering, and Mats Liljedahl, IT pedagogue and strategist for net-based learning.
The project is part of the KK Foundation programme NU, the purpose of which is to contribute to the international positioning of universities’ strong education and research areas through supporting the development of net based cutting edge education at the Master and Doctoral levels.
