IMT and Dartmouth College win prestigious 2019 edX Prize for “C Programming with Linux”

Created by Rémi Sharrock, Associate Professor at Télécom Paris, an IMT school, and Petra Bonfert-Taylor, Professor at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College (an American Ivy League university), this certificate program comprising 7 MOOCs has been awarded the 2019 edX Prize for its “exceptional contributions in online teaching and learning.” The professors were selected from a group of 10 internationally-renowned finalists for their innovative approach to online computer science learning.

The “C Programming with Linux” professional certificate has attracted 170,000 learners across the globe in just one year.

This program dedicated to learning Linux and C Language, one of the main computer programming languages used around the world, culminates in a Professional Certificate© recognized by leading industrial groups such as Airbus, Nokia and Thalès.

The seven MOOCs taught in English allow learners to gradually become proficient in C Language, from learning the foundations of C Language with Linux for beginners, to becoming experienced users of this powerful operating system. The MOOCs use innovative tools developed by France IOI, which are revolutionizing online learning:

• Codecast: a tutorial that offers an interactive code interface with live comments from the teacher
• Taskgrader: an automated tool to assess code produced by learners

An unprecedented international collaboration

This certificate program is the first to be developed through an unprecedented academic partnership between Dartmouth College and IMT – France’s number-one group of engineering and management graduate schools and a key player in online learning in France.

The program grew out of Rémi Sharrock’s (Télécom Paris) desire to extend his first MOOC, “ABC du Langage C,” which won the 2016 Google Award for most innovative MOOC of 2016, through an English-language version. It is the result of unprecedented international collaboration with Petra Bonfert-Taylor, whom he met during a trip to discover the United States.

This MOOC program is the first cross-institutional certificate program on the edX platform. “edX gave us the opportunity to offer an innovative program, both in terms of it being a joint program and the tools we use. We’re thrilled to receive this prize and urge edX to encourage its members to team up to develop collaborative projects which result in rewarding learning experiences, for learners and Faculty alike.” (Rémi Sharrock)

IMT is the only higher education institution in France to be present on the three leading international platforms – edX, Coursera, and fun-Mooc for the French-speaking community – with a collection of 50 MOOCs created by its schools (13 of which are led by Télécom Paris). This presence offers a unique choice depending on the targeted audience and the teaching methods instructors wish to use.

“We are delighted to present Dartmouth Professor Petra Bonfert-Taylor and Institut Mines-Télécom (IMT) Professor Rémi Sharrock with the edX Prize,” said Anant Agarwal, edX CEO and MIT Professor. “Together, they launched the first cross-institutional Professional Certificate program on edX, using innovative open source tools and approaches to remove the most common barriers to beginner coders. We are honored to recognize this team and we offer our sincere gratitude for their commitment to spreading the edX mission of increasing access to high-quality education worldwide.”

This MOOC program was created with support from Fondation Mines-Télécom and the Patrick and Lina Drahi foundation.

To access and enroll in the MOOC program, visit: https://www.edx.org/professional-certificate/dartmouth-imtx-c-programming-with-linux

 

Cérémonie de remise du Prix edX 2019