Success of UC's First MOOC Translates into Likely Fall 2014 Return

The success of UC’s first MOOC (massive open online course) means the free Innovation and Design Thinking course will likely be a reoccurring course offering.

With final participation numbers of more than 2,500 people from 90 countries around the world, UC administrators are entertaining the idea of bringing back the course and possibly launching other MOOCs next year.

The free innovation course, a joint endeavor of the Carl H. Lindner College of Business and UC’s College of Engineering & Applied Science (CEAS), shattered the record for UC’s largest class size. The course will continue to be listed as a credit-bearing elective in the Lindner MBA program.

“This MOOC accomplished our objective of extending UC’s brand worldwide by providing open access to our world-class faculty who brought thousands of individuals together to discuss innovative ways to develop new product concepts,” says BJ Zirger, associate dean of online education at the Carl H. Lindner College of Business.

The UC MOOC was distinctive from other MOOCs because it was co-taught by faculty with more than 50 years of industry experience in two different disciplines (business and engineering), and it offered two free credit hours to participants who completed the course requirements and subsequently enroll in the Lindner MBA program or the CEAS Master of Engineering program.

The Innovation and Design Thinking course was co-taught by Lindner’s Drew Boyd, assistant professor-educator of marketing and executive director of the Master of Science in Marketing, and Jim Tappel, assistant professor-educator at CEAS.

The course appealed to innovation practitioners from all backgrounds as the class taught students to master the tools necessary to generate new ideas and how to quickly transform those concepts into viable new products and services.

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