The University of Kent is a member of the FutureLearn partnership, which includes many leading UK and international universities and specialist organisations with a huge archive of cultural and educational materials.
For details of all our courses please visit our page on FutureLearn.

Future Learn logo
Learners can sign up and attend our courses free online, for the duration of the course plus a further two weeks. Or, learners can upgrade and access the course for as long as it is available, as well as earn a Certificate of Achievement.

Dr Mark O’Connor is the University FutureLearn Lead. If you would like to discuss any aspect of developing distance courses or MOOCs, please contact him at: M.A.O’Connor@kent.ac.uk

Available Courses

From Waterloo to the Rhine: The British Army 1815-1945
Portrait of Wellington at Waterloo, by Robert Alexander Hillingford
Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

4-week course. FREE: 6 weeks’ access. UPGRADE: £42 (unlimited access & opportunity to earn Certificate of Achievement)

Explore the British Army’s part in the making of the modern world on the MOOC From Waterloo to the Rhine: The British Army 1815-1945

On this course participants will see how the British Army evolved as an institution between 1815 and 1945 and will reflect on its social composition, place in society, and military proficiency, analysing a range of primary sources and incorporating your findings into historical debate.

No prior experience or qualifications are needed for this course. It would suit anyone with an interest in the British military, or social history in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It would also appeal to prospective students of history, or military history.

Communicating Effectively with Vulnerable Children and Young People

CPD-certified course

On our course Communicating Effectively with Vulnerable Children and Young People participants will learn child-centred communication strategies to encourage children to talk and discover tools and techniques to engage effectively with vulnerable children and young people.

This course will enable you to improve your communication skills through techniques which place the child at the heart of the interaction. You’ll examine why a child may become vulnerable and reflect upon the barriers to communication. You’ll also explore activities from pre-verbal to adolescent stages which encourage children to share their feelings.

The course is aimed at anyone working with vulnerable children and young people. It is also suited to foster carers keen to improve their communication skills.

Politics, Art and Resistance
1000 Gestalten
Image: (c) Christian Angl, 1000 Gestalten

4-week course. FREE: 6 weeks’ access. UPGRADE: £32 (unlimited access & opportunity to earn Certificate of Achievement)“Politics, Art and Resistance” introduces ideas and practices of resistance, and the relationship between art and politics. We explore how creative practices connect with social and political issues.

Participants have the chance to contribute an image of resistance to a photo mosaic. The mosaic from our first run (April 2018) was presented at Tate Modern in May/June 2018.

Functional Programming in Erlang
Functional Programming in Erlang

3-week course. FREE: 5 weeks’ access. UPGRADE: £62 (unlimited access & opportunity to earn Certificate of Achievement)

Our course “Functional Programming in Erlang” is the first MOOC (massive open online course) dedicated to Erlang.

The course is suitable for learners who have some prior experience of programming but functional programming experience in particular is not required.

Concurrent Programming in Erlang
Concurrent Programming in Erlang

3-week course. FREE: 5 weeks’ access. UPGRADE: £62 (unlimited access & opportunity to earn Certificate of Achievement)

“Concurrent Programming in Erlang” is designed to teach the principles of concurrent programming to people who are already familiar with the basic concepts of functional programming, for example as taught in our “Functional Programming with Erlang” course.

The Science of Endurance Training and Performance
The Science of Endurance Training and Performance

6-week course. FREE: 8 weeks’ access. UPGRADE: £62 (unlimited access & opportunity to earn Certificate of Achievement)

“The Science of Endurance Training and Performance” explores the science behind effective training methods, effective nutritional and psychological preparation to support training/competition, and maintainance of a healthy and injury free experience.

No previous experience is necessary.

Understanding Autism
Understanding Autism ("Colours" by Connor Sparrowhawk, #JusticeforLB)

4-week course. FREE: 6 weeks’ access. UPGRADE: £52 (unlimited access & opportunity to earn Certificate of Achievement)

Does autism exist? This is the big question we’ll be exploring on “Understanding Autism”. You don’t need any prior experience or qualifications to do this course.

The image for this course is “Colours” by Connor Sparrowhawk.We are grateful to Connor’s mother Sara who has kindly agreed for the image to be used. Find out more about Connor’s story at http://justiceforlb.org/ #JusticeforLB