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Online course from DTU among the best in the world

Bacteria and microorganisms Genes and genomes Food safety

A free online course from the National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, about whole genome sequencing has been named as one of the 20 best new MOOC e-learning courses in the world for 2017.

Every year, millions of inquisitive people worldwide take the opportunity to participate in some of the thousands of MOOC e-learning courses that are available. MOOC is an acronym for Massive Open Online Courses. These free online courses are available to students from all over the world.

Top 20 new MOOC courses

The world's leading search engine for MOOC courses, Class Central, has published a list of the 20 best MOOC courses that were launched in 2017. The top 20 list is calculated based on user reviews of the courses.

Included in that list is a course from the National Food Institute on whole genome sequencing—an approach that allows a microorganism’s entire DNA profile to be identified quickly and relatively inexpensively using online tools. Whole genome sequencing techniques have revolutionized the way diseases are detected and outbreaks are investigated.

During the course, students learn about the theory behind the methods and receive training in the use of various free online tools to analyze whole genome sequencing data in order to type bacteria and map the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance in the bacteria.

Thousands of students from all over the world

Since the course was launched in late September 2017, it has attracted more than 4,700 students from all over the world. More than 300 students have completed the entire course, while some students choose only the modules they are particularly interested in or need more knowledge about—e.g. in connection with their studies or to carry out their work.

One of the users writes in his review: ”The module was easy to follow and the class exercises made it very easy to understand. I will highly recommend this course to microbiology students especially the ones without prior knowledge of bioinformatics for epidemiological study of bacterial infections."

About the course

There is continuous enrollment on the five-week course, which is taught in English. The course is aimed at people with an interest in the field—e.g. undergraduate or graduate students, laboratory technicians, researchers and people working in the food, health or veterinary sectors.

Teaching takes place via an interactive textbook, which contains videos, quizzes and assignments. During the course students will have the opportunity to meet in an online study group.

Students should expect to spend one to two hours a week on their studies. People who complete the course are able to receive a course certificate for a US$50 fee.

Read more

The course is offered through Coursera, which is an international provider of free e-learning courses. Find the full course description on Coursera’s website: Whole genome sequencing of bacterial genomes - tools and applications.

See the full list of the top 20 new MOOC courses on Class Central’s website.

According to Class Central more than 9,400 MOOC courses have been developed over the years and more than 78 million online students have enrolled. More than 800 universities from around the world offer one or more MOOC courses.