Hi,
I am sending you this note as I thought you (and your students or colleagues) might be interested in knowing about a new free MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) on Global Adolescent Health from The University of Melbourne. This will go live for 8 weeks from September 28th.
Professor George Patton and myself have been working with an international advisory committee consisting of representatives from WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, USAID, Columbia University, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and young people to develop the content.
The course is divided into 6 modules, and consists of a series of brief ‘headline’ lectures, video interviews with various global experts to provide a different context from various settings and countries, additional reading material with student engagement through an online blog.
Prospective learners can sign up anytime now by going to the website at https://www.coursera.org/course/adolescenthealth. We would encourage this, as students then get reminders about the course starting and other material which will help to build their engagement with it (and set aside time in their diaries as it is estimated it will take at least a couple of hours each week). Signing up doesn’t commit students to doing the course by the way! Check out the brief online video for an overview of the course.
The course is targeted at a university level but does not assume specific prior knowledge. It is expected to be relevant for anyone who works with young people, across different settings, such as health, education, welfare, etc. As the title suggests, the course is intentionally global in focus, but learners are encouraged to reflect about the social determinants of influence and key health issues in their own country.
We would be delighted for you to forward this note on to any of your students, colleagues and networks that you think may have some interest in adolescent health and development. Do emphasise that it will only be up online for an 8 week period (ie it is not online indefinitely, but for this fixed window).
And feel free to contact me if you would like to know any further information.
Best wishes,
Susan
Professor Susan M Sawyer MBBS MD FRACP FSAHM
Director, Centre for Adolescent Health,
Royal Children’s Hospital;
Geoff and Helen Handbury Chair of Adolescent Health,
Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne;
Researcher, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute
Tel 03 9345 6457 (PA Paras Tsiamis)