Future Learn is an online learning platform offering a huge range of short courses, accredited degrees, diplomas and certificate of achievements. They are partnered with hundreds of international universities and specialist organisations.
This is essentially a very large selection of valuable free distance learning content in pretty much any area that interests you.
Most short courses are offered free and if you want the certificate or to count it towards a longer program you either pay a fee, or you can pay a monthly fee (about £16) and any courses you access are free and certified.
See a list of partnered universities and organisations here.
I have personally completed five courses on genomic medicine, molecular genetics and cancer medicines accredited by St Georges University, Manchester University and Leeds University which were presented through digital content and video presentations written by a mixture of university lecturers and clinical scientists.
I found the content well presented and easy to follow in short sections, I would definitely recommend completing a short course if you are thinking about studying a longer distance learning course such as with The Open University.
Courses only required around 2 – 5 hours of study per week for a 2 -5 weeks so were very realistic to fit in. The time frame is up to you as well so if you get behind you can still go back and pick up where you left off, some of the courses are longer and some are shorter than this.
The huge selection of courses available is one of the reasons I tend to check back here as and when I need to delve into a new area.
I actually also found these courses looked great on my CV and really helped me in talk freely and knowledgably about related areas in during job interviews.
All in all a great platform for learning about a new area through accessible content. Excellent for preparing for a career change or job interview or simply to broaden your knowledge.
Future Learn is somewhere I check back to regularly when I’m looking to develop knowledge in a new area.