Our MITx Course Gains Recognition
Very little literature was available in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic on the effects of the COVID-19 crisis in slums and informal settlements. Even less media covered the vital community organizing that occurred in response. Our MITx Course 11.s952 COVID-19 in Slums & Informal Settlements: Guidelines & Responses aimed to fill this void, and has therefore garnered some international attention. As of April, 2021, we have over 800 learners from 91 different countries or regions. This geographic footprint is among the most widespread for a course of its kind. Demographically, there is also ample variation in students’ age and background. We have learners as young as 15 and up to 79 years old. Their socio-economic backgrounds are also quite diverse, as depicted in their discussion interactions. This has certainly demonstrated the interest that this offering awakened in our global community of research and practice.
We are proud to count informal settlement dwellers and informal workers among our community, who constantly share their insights and lived experience with the cohort and us. Our learners interact throughout the course in discussion forums sharing personal anecdotes as well as knowledge gained from lived experiences. We have received great feedback from learners about the teaching style and content of the course. For example:
“Thank you! It's been interesting to learn from and with you during these past weeks. I liked the structure of the course, and I did appreciate the co-production approach and the information provided.” - @TheodoraStankova from Bogota, Colombia
“I would like to congratulate the entire course team for this excellent explanation of the values. Like many here, I also come from historically disadvantaged classes and it is a privilege to be able to take advantage of this tool for the democratization of knowledge. For me one of the main values is sharing - knowledge, wealth, hope, food, absolutely everything. The world would be a better place if there was more sharing” - @JulianaPaiva from Brazil
It's great to have a course like this one available for everybody online - so thanks to the team! - @JustinGaiger from Germany
Additionally, our course was chosen by Business Insider as one of MIT’s 13 best EdX courses. Business Insider describes their reasoning in their article “MIT offers over 2,000 free online courses — here are 13 of the best ones.”
We are thrilled that our course is accessible to a global population because the ingenuity, knowledge, and success of slum communities should be celebrated worldwide.