edX courses put Harvard and MIT on your CV for free!

Discovering edX courses has been by far the highlight of this year for me. As the saying goes, or rather, the Bible to be more precise, “seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened”. And that is exactly how I found edX courses: seeking and knocking! On this post, I will tell you, 

1. How I found edX
2. What is edX
3. What type of courses can be found on edX 
4. How does edX work
5. Are edX courses really for free
6. Which Universities offer edX courses
7. My experience with edX courses
8. Conclusion

The radical changes in my personal and professional life in the past years resulted in a need for fresh knowledge. At first, I was busy learning how to put together this blog and the YouTube channel. However, once both were set up I needed more. All the new professional roads ahead pointed to areas out of my formal educational comfort zone. I needed to acquire new skills through training. I explored various online alternatives in different fields within my new areas of interest. However, the options I found were either too expensive, considering I was still exploring options, or too lengthy. Not to mention that in some cases the credibility was questionable. So one fine day, as I continued my persistent search, I decided to look for University online courses. To my great surprise, I stumbled upon edX courses. The tagline free online courses from Harvard and MIT immediately caught my eye and triggered my finger to click the link. Wow… I felt like a kid walking into a candy store for the very first time! So many courses, in so many interesting subjects, from the top Universities in the world… for free! It sounded too good to be true!

Education is one of the most precious tools one can have. That being said, it is also true that education is going through a revolutionary evolution and edX is at the forefront of this revolution. So what is edX? Edx is an online learning platform, founded by Harvard University and MIT, offering courses from top universities and institutions worldwide. Anand Agar, professor of engineering at MIT is the man behind this massive initiative. As he puts it, edX is the “democratization” of education, as it offers free access to education.  Edx is presently home to more than 20 million learners around the globe. Watch this Ted Talk where Anand Agar presents the concept of this new way of teaching and learning.

edX covers a wide variety of subjects from computer science, business and management, languages, engineering, data science, humanities and more. The course offer includes MicroMasters Programs, Professional Certificates, online Master´s Degrees, Global Freshman Academy for University credit, and Xseries courses for a deeper understanding of a particular subject. In addition, there is also edX for Business, a customised option, to upskill, reskill and train workforces of companies of all sizes.

First, browse through the courses by category or University/organization to select the ones that interest you. The second step is to register through a very simple process. After successful registration, you can then easily add the courses you have selected. If the course is ongoing, you can start right away, otherwise, you will need to wait until the course opens. Once you start the course, al you need to do is read carefully all the instructions and deadlines, and you are all set to start. Each course may vary in format but most include video, text and maybe assigned readings. In addition, to make the experience more interactive, there may also be opened discussion boards and group assignments. See point 7 to read about my experience with edX courses.

Being a global non-profit organisation, edX lives from donations and payment of certified and verified courses. This means that all courses are free, but the paid versions give access to extra material, access to assignments and exams and certification upon successful completion of the course. You can also donate to edX to help support education to everyone, everywhere and event provide financial aid for learners.

After spending a full day going through different subjects that interest me, I registered and started adding courses. Most of which had not started yet. At first, I selected a course about Mind and Machines from MIT and a Professional Certification on The Science of Happiness at Work from Berkley University. However, after adding these courses, I found Wageningen University & Research, the most reputable research University in The Netherlands in the field of agriculture, sustainability and nutrition and one of the top ranking in the world. As a result, I enrolled in two Professional Certifications on Nutrition, Food and Health and Nutrition and Disease, plus a course in Nutrition, Exercise and Sports and Human Microbiome. My academic enthusiasm left me overloaded! Once classes for these courses started, I had to make the hard decision to postpone the initially selected ones. I ended up fully booked for the semester! Each class differs, but in general, they include video, text and extra suggested readings. Since I selected the paid version, that unlocked additional modules, giving me also access to the assignments and exams. To make the experience more social, there are discussion boards where students from all over the world and teachers interact.  Depending on the course, the assignments can be individual, in a group, or even through an app.

The ongoing revolution of education and the increasing number of online courses can make for a difficult selection process. I found in edX the variety and credibility that I was looking for, at very affordable prices and flexible schedule. In conclusion, I highly recommend choosing edX, whether it is motivated by personal, academic or professional reasons. Edx is really at the cutting edge of the revolution of higher education. I am deeply thankful to have found this tool to further my self-development journey.