The Brussels Studies Institute (BSI) is pleased to present the first Massive Open Online Course entirely dedicated to Brussels. Called "BrOOC" for Brussels Open Online Course, this course aims at deconstructing preconceived ideas about Brussels in order to make you discover this city-region under its multiple historical, geographical, sociological, political, administrative or urbanistic facets. In six sections, this first version, which is free and accessible to all, also offers a formula for the co-construction of knowledge via a permanent and original dialogue with the participants and the Brussels society, who can send their suggestions or comments at any time.
Ready to (re)discover Brussels?
Produced under the aegis of the Brussels Studies Institute (BSI) by a group of professors from the ULB and the VUB, with the support of the Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region Rudi Vervoort, it is the first MOOC on Brussels. Already released last September in French and Dutch, it is also available in English from 15 February onwards.
This online course is intended for foreign students who are on a mobility stay in Brussels, English-speaking workers or foreign residents, but is also especially designed for those who simply wish to discover or better understand the many realities of the Brussels-Capital Region.
Conceived in six sections, each of which reflecting a preconceived idea that distorts the perception of Brussels, the BrOOC covers the history of Brussels, its geography, the sociology of its inhabitants, its political, economic and administrative organisation and the mobility of those who live and/or work there. From 15 February onwards, the BSI will open a new section of the BrOOC every two weeks, along with numerous illustrations and didactic exercises.
A special feature of the approach is that it will be a co-constructed course whose content will be regularly updated on the basis of the participants' comments and suggestions, but also according to current events in order to remain, just like the Brussels Studies Institute, in permanent dialogue with the Brussels society.
The BrOOC is the result of a mission entrusted by Yvon Englert, then rector of the Université libre de Bruxelles, to the Brussels Studies Institute, the research platform on Brussels, with the participation of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the support of the Brussels-Capital Region. It was carried out under the direction of professors Serge Jaumain (from the ULB and former President of the BSI), Joost Vaesen (from the VUB) and Benjamin Wayens (ULB's interdisciplinary network of Brussels urban studies) with the technical support of the ULB's Centre d'Appui Pédagogique.
More information on www.bsi.brussels/en/brooc.