Computer science and computer engineering courses among U of Is first Coursera offerings

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of 12 top universities joining with the open, online course company called Coursera to offer web-based courses for free. The partnership puts Illinois at the leading edge of the massive open online course movement.

Initial courses from Illinois’s College of Engineering include: a course on building the software tools that are involved in chip design, one on building mobile apps, and one on programming GPU processors. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will offer classes in organic chemistry, microeconomics, sustainability, and earth science.

All courses will be free for any individual with a computer and Internet connection to enroll.

“Massive open online courses go to the heart of our land-grant mission at the University of Illinois,” said Rob A. Rutenbar, head of the Department of Computer Science at Illinois. “Our job is to develop new knowledge and make sure that our students apply it to the world’s challenges. These courses mean we can reach a new—and growing—group of lifelong learners.” Rutenbar co-chaired the University Faculty Senate Committee that recommended moving forward with the partnership. In addition, Ilesanmi Adesida, dean of the College of Engineering, chairs the Coursera Initiative Implementation Team that will be recommending the processes and procedures on getting fully implementing the University's engagement.

Coursera was founded in the fall of 2011 by Daphne Koller and Andrew Ng. It partners with top universities to offer courses online for anyone to take, for free. Coursera has seen over 680,000 students from 190 countries and more than 1.55 million course enrollments across its 43 courses.

Illinois’s courses are expected to start in the fall. For more information on the university’s offerings, see: http://www.coursera.org/illinois/.

Other universities who have recently signed agreements with Coursera include the California Institute of Technology, Duke University, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Georgia Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins University, Rice University, University of California – San Francisco, University of Edinburgh, University of Toronto, University of Virginia, and University of Washington. Princeton, University of Michigan, Stanford, and University of Pennsylvania joined earlier in 2012.
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Contact: Rob A. Rutenbar, Department of Computer Science, 217/333-3373.

If you have any questions about the College of Engineering, or other story ideas, contact Rick Kubetz, editor, Engineering Communications Office, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 217/244-7716.