Professor Mark Brown:

I welcome the opportunity to share DCU's experiences of and perspectives on studying at university through online learning, including MOOCs. As Ireland's first professor of digital learning, I arrived in February to lead DCU's strategy and to establish the National Institute for Digital Learning. I was previously director of the National Centre for Teaching and Learning at Massey University in New Zealand, where I had strategic oversight for the university's multi-campus learning environment comprising 33,000 students, including 16,500 online distance learners. I also led the country's first enterprise-wide MOOC initiative and played a key role in establishing the Massey University worldwide brand.
In this brief presentation I propose to make three key points but, before doing so, I wish to comment on the hype and hope associated with MOOCs and their disruptive potential. MOOCs are primarily used for marketing purposes and few, if any, accredited degrees offered from reputable universities are done so in this manner. Moreover, as the recent Porto declaration on the European use of MOOCs points out, they have low completion rates, attract already well-educated participants and involve significant costs. While they offer a valuable innovation component or dimension, online learning is not new. DCU has been providing online learning for more than a decade. The digital world made possible by the Internet is transforming the way almost all human transactions are taking place, including teaching and learning. In this respect, the Internet is the disruptive force, not the MOOC per se.
It should also be acknowledged that many Irish universities are taking advantage of the digital world in which we now live. In DCU's case, our online learning environment has become an essential part of the student learning experience. Every week, thousands of students are routinely studying online. In our experience, successful online learning initiatives require vision and strategic leadership aligned with a clear institutional mission and supported by capable teachers who embed digital learning experiences throughout the curriculum. New technologies should not be simply bolted on to the existing curriculum. None the less, having the will and the skills to embrace new digital technologies only goes so far because very little can be achieved without access to modern infrastructure. Ireland urgently needs to invest in this infrastructure if it wants to remain competitive and take advantage of the opportunities presented by the new digital world.
In DCU's case, investing in more flexible models of online learning is a strategic priority in our mission of transforming lives and societies by extending access to higher education. This mission is not mutually exclusive with the goal of sustainability in generating income. DCU has a number of strategic partnerships around the world which make extensive use of online learning, including a significant relationship with Arizona State University, the largest in the United States. Last month we jointly launched an online MSc programme in biomedical diagnostics, and further joint initiatives are planned. In addition, through the global e-schools initiative, which is headquartered in Nairobi, we deliver blended programmes to masters level to 12 nations in the African Union. This type of collaborative model, which anchors funding from carefully selected partners, is an important strategy for building and sustaining global online learning initiatives which can generate revenue.
However, current funding models limit our ability to realise the benefits of online learning and flexible learning, particularly for part-time students. It is notable that fewer than 3% of Irish students currently study by distance learning. Several higher level reports have recommended a more inclusive funding model. The Hunt report recommended that: "All students, whether full-time or part-time, on-campus or off-campus, should be equally supported by the funding model used to allocate resources to and within Institutions."

The recent European high level report on the modernisation of higher education also recognised the need to address this fundamental barrier. It made a strong recommendation for full equality of provision for all students regardless of time, place or mode of study.

My third key point is as follows. Ireland needs to adopt a much more proactive rather than reactive strategy. A greater focus needs to be placed on the long-term horizon. The current preoccupation with MOOCs is far too narrow. It focuses our attention on a delivery mode rather than the outcomes and types of learning experience that we seek. We should think more broadly about the modernisation agenda for our universities.

To this end, the National Institute for Digital Learning has appointed an international advisory board of leading experts in the field. Also, we have commissioned the Horizon report to better understand the challenges, opportunity and future trends facing higher education. The report will be available in April.

There are also opportunities to be far more active and proactive in the European sphere. DCU is currently a member of the OpenupEd MOOC initiative funded by the European Commission. Since the National Institute for Digital Learning was established, we have secured funding from three major European projects. In March 2015, for example, with European funding, the National Institute for Digital Learning will host a national MOOC symposium.

In conclusion, Irish educators and policy makers, rather than being prophets of doom and purveyors of dreams, need to shape the digital transformation of higher education. The salient question that the digital learning roadmap asks is "Where are we going?", but the question should be "Where do we want to go?". Discussions on the future of online learning need to be framed around the question of what type of higher education system we want to create by 2030.