XuetangX is Launching a Free Online Micro Diploma Program in Computer Science

In order to enhance the computer skills of engineering students and professionals and promote the international development of engineering education, the International Knowledge Center for Engineering Sciences and Technology (IKCEST), under the auspices of UNESCO, and the International Center for Engineering Education (ICEE), under the auspices of UNESCO and XuetangX, will jointly sponsor the “2018 Special Training on International Engineering Education: Frontier Computer-Knowledge Workshop.”

The workshop has two elements. A micro-diploma in Computer Science will be offered online, and an international workshop will take place on the Tsinghua University campus in October 2018.

Online Micro Diploma in Computer Science

The completely free micro-diploma will be offered for a maximum of three months (June through August 2018) and is aimed at engineering students and professionals. It consists of four computing MOOCs (massive open online courses) from Tsinghua, MIT, and Berkeley universities: Data Structures and Algorithm Design, Introduction to Computational Thinking and Data Science, Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python, and Agile Development Using Ruby on Rails. All courses will be offered in English.

Exams will be conducted online in the last week of August 2018. Those students who successfully pass the tests will obtain at no cost the micro- diploma certificate of completion.

Registration for the courses will begin on June first at the website: http://engedu.ikcest.org/unesco/visual/micromasters/.

At the website, students will find more detailed information about the courses and teachers as well as about the main stages of the workshop. There is also a Facebook group with the name “2018 Computer Science Online Micro-Diploma.”

Onsite Workshop

Students who excel in the first stage will be invited to join the international workshop taking place in October2018 in Tsinghua.

The workshop will feature well-known international computer experts and experienced teachers from Tsinghua University. The renowned lecturers will teach computer programming knowledge and scientific thinking as well as discussing developments and innovations in engineering science and technology.

About XuetangX

XuetangX is a world-leading platform for lifelong learning. It brings together quality education resources from schools and enterprises, providing low-cost, efficient access to knowledge, certificates, credits, and even degrees. At present, XuetangX has 11 million registered users and offers more than 1400 MOOCs.

About ICEE and ICKEST

The International Engineering Technology Knowledge Center (IKCEST), established in 2014 by the Chinese Academy of Engineering, is a comprehensive international engineering-science and applied- technology knowledge center under UNESCO. Its goal is to build a global engineering-science and technology organization, integrate the digital resources of various engineering technologies, establish public data-service platforms and collaborative service environments, and jointly build diverse professional knowledge-service systems for policymakers from all countries in the world, especially developing countries. IKCEST provides consulting, scientific research, education, and other knowledge services for policy-makers, engineers, researchers, and technicians in the field of engineering sciences and technology.

The International Engineering Education Center (ICEE) operates under the auspices of UNESCO (Category 2) and is devoted to engineering education. The Chinese Academy of Engineering and Tsinghua University jointly applied to establish the Center with the goal of implementing the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Agenda. ICEE promotes innovation and cooperation between industry and academia, with a focus on cultivating engineering and technological talent, improving the quality of global engineering education, and promoting fairness. It aims to become a high-level talent-training foundation, a research and consulting think tank, and an international exchange platform.