What are the links between politics and economics?

Join Sir Vince Cable and leading experts at the University Of Nottingham to find out about the connections between politics and economics in our free online course. The Politics of Economics and the Economics of Politicians explores the work of major political figures and the economic ideas they adopted. The course is run by experts …

The Institute for Environmental Management and Assessment joins the Nottingham MOOC Team

Professor Sarah Speight writes: Our upcoming MOOC ‘Sustainability, Society and You‘  is being run in association with IEMA – the Institute for Environmental Management and Assessment. IEMA is a professional association that works with individuals and organisations to set, recognise and achieve global sustainability standards and practice. There are currently about 15,000 IEMA members – all …

Upcycling all the rage?

Two of the course team for our current FutureLearn MOOC, Sustainability, Society and You, course leader Sarah Speight and engineer Mike Clifford, have been busy reusing unwanted pallets. Mike’s gone for a cerebral solution and has turned his into a bookcase (could do with a bit of sanding down and a wax Mike), while Sarah’s …

Grow your own veg successfully!

One of the ways in which many of us try to live sustainably is by growing our own food.  Personally, I can’t seem to grow anything worth eating, but Sarah Speight, course leader for the Sustainability, Society and You MOOC which runs again on FutureLearn from next Monday 16 June, has much more success! During …

Making the Most of my MOOCing

Thom Whiffen (left, in photo below), postgraduate researcher exploring Energy Storage Technologies, will be less involved in our MOOC Sustainability, Society and You this summer as he is busy writing up. Here Thom shares some of his thoughts on his experiences facilitating the first run of the course earlier this year. While aimed at his …

All MOOC-ed Out!

Sarah Speight writes: The University of Nottingham’s inaugural MOOC for the FutureLearn partnership, ‘Sustainability, Society and You’ (SSY) finished a few weeks ago after what seemed like a mammoth 8 weeks.  As I write, the second Nottingham MOOC, How to read a Mind, is coming to a close. Sustainability, Society and You was both exciting …

Advent calendar #27: A recipe for a successful video shoot

Simon Barnett from our Video Team offers us his recipe for a successful video shoot: An idea of what you want to record 5 cameras and tripods 3 monitors Camera Track and Dolly (10metres in length) 1 Jib Crane 15 different lights with stands Video cable (lots) An audio mixer Audio cable (lots) 6 different …

Advent calendar #25: Using your Christmas leftovers

Sarah Speight writes: we have just finished running the ‘NOOC’ – the Nottingham Open Online Course, ‘Perspectives on Sustainability’. This is an internal University of Nottingham version of the Futurelearn MOOC, ‘Sustainability, Society and You’ that starts on January 6th. Our students have been carrying out audits of their domestic waste. While most of them …

Advent calendar #23: My Sustainable [and early] Christmas

Sarah Speight writes: I think I get more and more concerned about consumer excess every Christmas. I’ve always been someone who prefers ‘useful’ presents myself and now I’ve extended this to my friends and family. If I am buying rather than making or growing (I’m not as advanced down this path as Mike Clifford, Advent …

Advent Calendar #20: The evolution of Sustainability, Society and You

Sarah Speight writes: When we start on January 6th, we will be into the third version of the course that is now Sustainability, Society and You and will have had the benefit of developing and refining it over a 9-month period. We have gathered feedback already from the University of Nottingham students and staff who …