Evolving technologies require continuous skill adaption in the industry, often resulting in a gap between the practical demand and academic curricula. Educating the next generation and attracting attention towards the respective organization are common goals for both parties. They enable a strategic alliance-oriented approach to applied teaching of new technologies aligned with theoretical contexts. MOOCs as open e-learning format benefit from a joint imparting by corporate and academic partners. This paper presents an exemplary structural framework for applied MOOCs, incorporating the objective to ensure a broad and sustainable adaption of innovative technologies among students and an inspirational learning experience. Simultaneously, possible conflicts of interest are tackled and discussed. These insights are equally valuable for representatives from Higher Education institutions and companies.
institutions and the practical demand of a fast-changing business world. It results in a
non-optimal allocation of human resources and costly training on-the-job [
Corporate players are tackling this gap by entering and supporting the education
market. Additional qualification measures are offered to prepare students and
professionals for future tasks and provide them with recent knowledge in technology
and business. These training opportunities seem to be a cost-effective and fast approach
for up- and re-skilling – but mostly from the business perspective, facing the need for
certain abilities related to immediate tasks [
Business software often comes with the advantage of easy training possibilities
offline and online. It stands to reason to also make those technical trainings, used for
corporate workforce development, available to upskill students. But without any
relevance or opportunity to use it, students will rather not retain to the training or
become excited about the technology. Therefore, these functional skills must be
incorporated in HE curricula and be related to other subjects to provide students with a
broad overview of values and coherencies they need to understand to become a
professional in a certain field [
Bridging the gap between academic curricula and practical skill-demand requires to
involve both parties and their characteristics [
Exemplary business objectives. Educating the future workforce is strongly related to
an attractive employer branding, a fast-signaling approach for recruiting of skilled
talent and a cost-effective onboarding process [
Exemplary academic objectives. HE institutions have a certain aspiration to provide
students with business-relevant education. Although designed for enabling
breakthrough research and academic careers, more institutions offer also an applied approach
to subjects to attract students and meet industry demand. Being a strong incubator for
inspiration and exploration, they want to be the perfect starting point for career
development. In addition, understanding the needs of markets supports the funding of
research projects and attracts attention to the academic institution [
MOOCs are technology-based learning formats aiming at large-scale participation and
open online access, while offering high-quality education and certification. MOOCs
have seen some adoption for corporate workforce training and young professionals are
using them for life-long learning [
The overall objectives for an applied MOOC can be related to those possibilities: (i) Embed theory through hands-on application, (ii) teach new, relevant skills with software and business tools, and (iii) provide an exciting story connected to academic and industry context for better retention and learning success.
These objectives may be achieved through various engaging formats: Teachercentered teaching, additional reading material, video training for software-tools or technology features, self-paced exercises to be solved within a tool or application of a technology, applied challenge or case study combining theoretical knowledge and hands-on skills, collaborative tasks or peer-reviewed homework, usage of other new technology-based formats like Augmented Reality, Serious Games or Social Networks. 4
The Strategic Alliance consists of a young software company [
The generic learning objectives can be extended with any topic-specific objective. The applied learning approach should manage expectations in advance and attract the desired target audience. Defining the target audience is a helpful step to create an appealing story and the level of difficulty for exercises. MOOCs on well-known platforms can be accessed by learners from various backgrounds. Thus, the actual users can only be targeted by a clearly communicating the course’s idea and objectives. Operational set-up. In terms of MOOC provision, the chosen e-learning platform will default a certain set of possible content formats and means for user engagement, tasks and exams. Besides, instructors need to be found. Teaching on applied topics may require insights from both industry and academia capable of conveying the relevance and the desired skills in an appropriate way.
Teaching concept and course plan. Based on objectives and operational set-up, a detailed teaching concept and course plan can be defined. For this exemplary case, students will both be listening to theory lessons and working on hands-on assignments with a software for data analysis. The first chapters start with several keynotes and a theoretical introduction. Industry representatives provide practical insights, aligned with academics from the relative research field, to demonstrate the broad relevance of the topic. In the following chapters, a common structure applies: Theoretical input is delivered by academic teachers and additional reading material. Those sessions are followed by video training for the analytics software, based on the technical product training from the software provider. Participants then apply the presented content in short quizzes and exercises, as well as a case study covering a sample company. During the exercises, participants work with the software tool on a demo data set. Besides the quizzes, participants also prepare a findings’ report, which is peer-reviewed by other participants. The exemplary MOOC finishes with future related content on trends and possible research fields. Ultimately, the keynote speakers will frame the whole concept with an outlook for their respective role.
Comprising, the proposed teaching concept for an applied MOOC strives to be clearly structured to easily grasp the approach and prevent participants from being overwhelmed by combined concepts.
Storytelling and theoretical framework. Applied MOOCs will often address various groups and knowledge levels. To ensure retention, valuable learning experiences for every participant and content-based certification, the respective courses can have a specific focus on storytelling and a clear theoretical framework being delivered. The framework should incorporate both academic and business content. Besides that, the MOOC can have an exciting story to follow which highlights the relevance for research but also career development. If possible, the story should be based on characters, the target group can relate to, and start with a problem statement and end with a solution that is to be found through the application of the technology or tool.
Assessment. The applied MOOC aspires to provide participants with a certificate valuable for both Academia and industry. Hence, all assessments need to be designed to measure the learning objectives and evaluate the academic and hands-on performance in the tool. Assessments should be focused on skills and the theoretical framework.
In summary, this structural framework for an applied MOOC integrates objectives and content from both parties of the Strategic Alliance. It is focused on demonstrating relevance to the target group and enhancing the learning experience by combining technical product training with academic context for a sustainable learning experience. 5
Collaborative partnerships between industry and academia to bridge the gap in
education are expected to have certain advantages, realized through specifically
designed conceptual frameworks. Using technology, tools or innovative products in a
self-learning environment is engaging, equips participants with new skills, strengthens
transfer thinking and attracts new learners. It connects minds and markets and ensures
a relevant and exciting education leading to fast career development. Relying on
academic frameworks ensures credibility and grounded skill-placement detached from
classical feature training. For both parties, a Strategic Alliance increases attention,
creates demand and helps developing a certain image [
However, the described advantages can only be realized if conflicts of interest due
to different approaches to concepts and people are avoided. While the academic party
aims to attract students to university enrolment and research careers, the corporate party
pursues to acquire skilled talents. Hence, the general objectives, marketing messages
and instruments for retention and conversion of participants differ and can even be
opposed to each other [
These conflicts of interest and obstacles must be considered, communicated and monitored. If they are managed in a value-oriented way, both Strategic Alliance partners can meet their objectives by focusing on the common goal: providing highquality education, easily accessible for learners, and empowering a future workforce with relevant skills. This approach ensures sustainable growth for innovative, technology-based ventures, create new research categories and deliver sustainable education based on an ecosystem, integrating all stakeholders in a knowledge economy.