LinkedIn has partnered up with seven universities, two in the UK and five international partners, for learners to be given the opportunity to gain official academic credit when completing select LinkedIn Learning courses.
THE University of Huddersfield has been chosen by LinkedIn Learning to be part of a new international education partnership - a coveted group that includes just six other universities from across the globe - that will be able to offer people who complete select LinkedIn Learning online learning paths the opportunity to gain official academic credit. These can then be applied to a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes and education certificates - including Business, Information Technology, Digital Media, Data Science and Communication.
Only two UK universities have been chosen to take part, the University of Huddersfield and Northumbria University. The five international partners are the American University of Beirut in Lebanon, ESPM in Brazil, International University and the XU Exponential University both based in Germany, and Australia's University of South Australia.
A wide variety of LinkedIn Learning online learning paths are eligible for official academic credit, including learning paths on data science, graphic design, digital marketing, project management, data science, digital transformation and leadership. The engaging and high-quality production online learning courses from LinkedIn Learning are taught by expert instructors and are available in multiple languages.
"By working in partnership with LinkedIn Learning, we are enabling learners to move seamlessly from their LinkedIn Learning studies to our degree courses. This is the future of learning and we are delighted to be involved in what is a huge step towards developing personalised learning experiences."
Rupert Ward, Professor of Learning Innovation at the University of Huddersfield
Learners can select a partner university, browse the list of LinkedIn Learning courses that qualify for academic credit, and select a learning path to start. Upon completion of the learning path, learners will receive a certificate of completion from LinkedIn, and will subsequently be able to receive academic credit upon the successful completion of a university assessment of their learning.
Research conducted by the University's Professor of Learning Innovation Rupert Ward, on new ways to learn as well as innovative learning techniques is one of the reasons why the University of Huddersfield is one of only two UK universities who have been chosen to take part in the international pilot.
"As the global economy shifts to more skills-based hiring practices, it is increasingly important to help people continuously gain new skills," explained Professor Ward from the University's School of Computing and Engineering.
"This requires minimising barriers to learning by supporting different pathways to developing talent and making the experience more personalised," he said.
"By working in partnership with LinkedIn Learning, we are enabling learners to move seamlessly from their LinkedIn Learning studies to our degree courses. This is the future of learning, and we are delighted to be involved in what is a huge step towards developing personalised learning experiences," he concluded.
Janine Chamberlin, UK Country Manager at LinkedIn, said: "Offering people alternative routes to skills and education - at any point in life - is crucial to helping them to upskill and reskill as the world around us changes. We're proud to partner with the University of Huddersfield and Northumbria University who recognise the value of our online learning courses and are committed to offering people a new way to earn academic credit to help them on their skills development journey. We know this path to education will be a huge benefit to many, and we look forward to expanding our education partners to offer more people this opportunity in the future."
