What did FutureLearn ever do for us?

This reflection is prompted by a recent thread on Twitter discussing the future of commercial online learning platforms, including FutureLearn.

From my personal perspective, FutureLearn has been instrumental in the development and quality of my professional life. Without the introduction of the platform in 2013 I would not have had the privilege of working with a host of exceptional digital professionals at the University of Leeds. Equally I would not have had the opportunity to work with and witness a team start up an innovative company based on an idea. The FutureLearn concept grew quickly and efficiently into a learning platform that was a game changer. A truly professional and talented start-up team.

I was interested in one comment that suggested most universities have failed to profit from their courses hosted on the FutureLearn platform. If considering direct financial return from courses, this is probably true (with a few significant exceptions). However, I just wanted to consider the many other benefits that I witnessed from a university’s partnership with FutureLearn. Here are my top seven; you may have more.

Momentum – The call to action in late 2012 by FutureLearn, created a wave of interest. Senior management within universities seriously considered whether they could afford to be left out - for some institutions, the investment in digital education ramped up.

Potential – Academic teams and university services witnessed the potential of digital learning, to support both students and staff – through short FutureLearn courses, early academic adopters increased their profile and encouraged others to get onboard.

Development – By working with the FutureLearn platform digital education staff and academic subject matter experts developed skills, providing online learning comparable to commercial training companies – in turn this resulted in the integration of online/blended learning within the university curriculum, bringing value to the student experience.

USP – Universities realised the value of their wealth of subject matter expertise, with the unique benefit of research interests and reputation – some capitalised on this, working with FutureLearn to develop courses to raise profile, attract new students, and generate income.

Analytics – FutureLearn was able to illustrate the benefits of learning analytics through data matching exercises, confirming the link between some short courses and the recruitment to university programmes – financial benefits from short courses could be identified by marketing teams.

External Partnerships – Through their development of FutureLearn courses, digital education teams developed the skills and confidence to bid for, and win, multi-million-pound contracts for online learning projects – in turn, this further grew staffing levels and expertise, benefitting university students and staff.

Pandemic Response – The relationship with FutureLearn and the subsequent growth of digital education within the university, resulted in a firm base of staff with experience, available to react to the unprecedented need for online learning during the period of lockdown – for some, this has continued, resulting in the expansion of online offerings for credit and non-credit bearing learning.

To close, all I can say is thank you FutureLearn; I wish you all the best as you find your way to the next exciting opportunities in this fast-changing landscape.