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With the COVID-19 outbreak, classes are suspended and students are confined to learning from home. In February, the University of Hong Kong (HKU) launched the "HKU Cloud-based Learning” platform and collaborated with non-profit organisation edX, the trusted platform for learning, to offer free HKUx courses, which proved to be very popular with students. To further encourage online learning during the school suspension period, HKU launched the “Free MOOC Certification” programme for secondary school students in Hong Kong. The programme allows Secondary 4 and Secondary 5 students to complete the online assessment part of the HKUx courses with a fee waiver, and receive free certificates upon completion of the online course assessment.

Over 500 enrolments have been recorded since the launch of the “Free MOOC Certification” programme in early March. These enrolments come from both local and international schools, such as CCC Ming Yin College, Islamic Kasim Tuet Memorial College, YMCA of Hong Kong Christian College, Diocesan Girls’ School, Diocesan Boys’ School, Queen’s College, SKH Tsang Shiu Tim Secondary School, Shatin College, Victoria Shanghai Academy and more.

As the number of free certifications is limited, students who wish to take a course can visit the HKU Cloud-based Learning website at https://aal.hku.hk/admissions/local/hku-cloud-learning and register on or before May 29. After registration, a redemption code for the free course certification will be sent to students via email, which can be used in any of the HKUx courses on edX.org. Upon successful completion of the course, students can obtain a course certificate for free.

HKUx offers a wide range of online courses covering medicine, law, natural sciences, economics, engineering, humanities and more. Some popular courses include:

Epidemics I & II
HKU’s School of Public Health launched “Epidemics I” in 2019, enabling the general public to learn about the origin, spread and control of epidemics from world-renowned experts. This year’s MOOC, “Epidemics II”, started on March 19. Over the course of three weeks, epidemiologists from HKU will cover in detail theories of epidemiology, as well as disease prevention and control protocols. Throughout the course, students will learn about foundational epidemiologic theories, such as disease prevention via the epidemiologic triangle model, and transmission and infection forecasts via mathematical models of infectious diseases. Follow-up discussions will also cover current case studies of the new coronavirus – students may partake in discussions with epidemiologic experts, exchanging ideas and opinions with scholars of the field.

State, Law and the Economy I
Economic concepts often give a fresh and unobvious perspective when applied to the study of how the state, law, and the economy functions and are interrelated. This course has four parts and is taught by Professor Richard Wong, Chair of Economics Philip Wong Kennedy Wong Professor in Political Economy of HKU. Students will be taught essential economic concepts in an intuitive manner relevant to the study of political economy. Part One of the course is focused on developing the essential economic concepts.

Introduction to FinTech
As one of the ten finalists of the edX Prize 2019 and designed by leading academics from a wide range of disciplines with input from industry leaders including SuperCharger, the Centre for Finance, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CFTE), Microsoft, PwC and the Asia Capital Markets Institute (ACMI), the course provides the latest key trends in finance, technology and regulation, to better prepare for not only the opportunities but also the risks and challenges, to traditional financial institutions and business models and those working in them.

Humanity and Nature in Chinese Thought
Taught by Chad Hansen, Emeritus Chair Professor of Chinese Philosophy of HKU, the course provides an introduction to traditional Chinese ethical thought and a tour of the pervasive contrast in the way Chinese and Westerners think about ethical guidance or guidance concerning what is right and what is wrong, good or bad, with Western ethics focusing on a “law” metaphor – where moral law is “supernatural” command, while Chinese ethics focuses on a “path” metaphor where the paths are “written” in nature prior to human practices.

The University hopes that through the collaboration with edX, secondary school students will be more motivated to continue learning at home during the school suspension period. This is a good opportunity for students to acquire knowledge beyond textbooks. They can also explore their interests and ambitions in order to prepare for future career planning.