This MOOC addresses challenges that confront higher education policy makers and educators regarding the design and set-up of blended education, as well as its continuous quality improvement. The MOOC is a key output of the European Commission funded project, EMBED (European Maturity model for Blended Education, https://embed.eadtu.eu/). The course provides an overview of the emerging practices of blended learning in addition to introducing a maturity model that has been developed by the EMBED project team based on rigorous research evidence to assist with institutional change and leadership in the context of blended education deployment.

In this course, learners will be engaged with a series of scholarly debates on definitions of blended learning/ teaching/ education, in addition to practical examples of blended designs in both course and institutional levels in a number of European higher education institutions. Participants in the course will be invited to engage with short videos, reading materials, case studies, and interactive activities that involve learners working together and sharing their experiences of starting to apply a blended-learning maturity model in their organisational setting to assess the quality of existing practices and institutional readiness.

The main purpose of this course is to provide professional development for leadership of higher education institutions, particularly those involved in leading the design and implementation of blended-learning (e.g., Heads of learning technology teams, Director of an academic programme, or the Head of an academic department/school).