The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) is supporting the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) to strengthen its institutional capacity to design, develop and deliver massive open online courses (MOOCs), particularly in areas that contribute to national development.

A three-day workshop, “Supporting MOOC Development at UTT”, held in April 2023, brought 38 faculty and staff from Quality Assurance, Instructional Support and Technical Support units together to begin building a series of MOOCs. The first, entitled “Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management for Law Enforcement”, will be offered in August 2023. Given an 18 April declaration by CARICOM Heads of Government on crime and violence as a public health concern, the MOOC is timely. Persons in the region who work in law enforcement, security and justice will be able to take advantage of the UTT MOOC.

Following the workshop, UTT Vice-President for Quality Assurance and Institutional Effectiveness, Dr Ruby Alleyne commented, “Thanks to the lively and engaging workshop sessions, we now have a cadre of faculty and staff who are better placed for a digital future in which UTT not only creates MOOCS but also incorporates many of these newly acquired design and delivery skills into their practice, thereby revolutionising conventional course delivery and better meeting the needs of a diverse student population beyond national boundaries.”

Dr Mairette Newman, COL Education Specialist VUSSC, explained, “Crucial for the success of MOOCs are policies and supporting frameworks that can enhance implementation. To this end, we are also supporting UTT to develop institutional guidelines for the development and delivery of MOOCs.”