NEWS
What is a MOOC ?
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are free online courses that anybody can take, and those who complete the course can earn an official certificate for a fee. Top universities around the world offer MOOCs, and the total number of registered learners on the Coursera and edX platforms has reached more than 130 million. Along with self improvement, learners are using MOOCs to improve their professional skills, and the individually validated certificates are helping learners advance in the workplace and make career changes.
Featured Courses
Let’s Read! Learning Japanese through Science & Technology-1
This course focuses on improving Japanese reading comprehension through vocabulary and expressions retention, with a theme of Science and Engineering research at the University of Tokyo. In addition to reading, illustration videos and interview videos allow you to practise "listening" and "writing" skills. You can also broaden and deepen your knowledge in the related areas.
Transnational Studies - Japan and the World
The contemporary world is marked by a curious state of tension. On the one hand, it is deeply globalized, with goods, people, culture and ideas circulating across borders on an unprecedented scale. Neither can two of the major crises we are facing, climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, be contained on the level of individual states. Yet, nation states are still the most powerful political entities in the world, and nationalism is resurging, mobilizing the imagination and aspirations of people everywhere. Academic knowledge, too, is still often aligned with national borders and categories. Transnational studies is an interdisciplinary field that lives in the interstices of this tension. It reflects on why the “nation” has come to have such a powerful grip on the human imagination and social organization. It offers approaches that follow the historical and contemporary movement of ideas, things, people and practices beyond (= “trans”) national borders, explores how they are transformed along the way, and analyzes what enables and limits these movements. In this course, you will gain foundational knowledge about how to think transnationally. An initial module which introduces key concepts and approaches in transnational studies will be followed by four modules that use concrete case studies centered on Japan to spotlight how the transnational can be fruitfully employed across different disciplines, from history to sustainability studies. In doing so, the course offers foundational knowledge in how to navigate the complexities of our globalized world.
Adapting to the Effects of Climate Change on Quality of Life
As stated in the IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report, human activities are causing global warming, primarily through greenhouse gas emissions, and the Earth's surface temperature is rising. Climate change affects people's lives in many ways, including health, crop damage, and disasters. To cope with global climate change, mitigation and adaptation must be pursued simultaneously. In this course, participants will gain an understanding of the global and Japanese context of climate change, and learn about the impact of climate change on the quality of life of local people and adaptation measures, using Japanese case studies. The course, which consists of four modules, introduces the global and Japanese situation regarding climate change, basic information on the impacts on people's quality of life, impacts and responses in fruit tree production sites, adaptation measures in the field of urban planning and design, impacts on urban infrastructure and assets and their management Mitigation and adaptation through the management of urban infrastructure and assets, and understanding the impacts and risks of climate change on transport systems, through case studies.
Studying at Japanese Universities
Are you interested in studying at Japanese universities? Do you want to learn about Japan’s university application and enrollment processes, as well as the types of programs on offer? This course will help you to both discover great programs offered by different Japanese universities and prepare a study plan through project-based learning. We introduce a number of options to match a variety of goals, from full degree to non-degree programs, programs taught in English, as well as short-term programs in Japan. During the course, international students at UTokyo will provide you with useful information and advice to start you on the path to studying in Japan. At the end of this course, you will produce a draft of your action plan for applying to Japanese universities. The overall goal of the course is to start you off on the right foot to a happy, productive and fulfilling student life in Japan!
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