EDU and the Future
"To ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and to promote lifelong learning opportunities for all"
EDU is committed to transforming education around the world by 2026. As an organisation, we support the United Nation’s 4th Sustainable Development Goal of providing inclusive, equitable and quality education for all.
As part of our commitment to this, we plan to offer at least five accredited programmes, available globally in a minimum of 15 countries, as well as offering needs-based scholarships, accessible modern medical education, high-quality training and a digital teaching model that will enable over 100,000 learners a year to benefit from our courses and programmes.
Changing the face of medical education and healthcare
One of our biggest concerns and therefore, greatest passions, is finding an effective solution to the shortfall facing the healthcare industry in physicians and healthcare workers. We believe that providing better access to quality medical education and utilising innovative digital learning tools will help us to address this issue, making medical education more widely accessible to those passionate about healthcare and leading to more expertly trained physicians and healthcare workers.
We have already launched an accredited full degree programme in Human Medicine at the world’s first digital medical school, EDU Medical. This degree programme combine hands-on practical training in leading teaching hospitals with theoretical study conducted in small, personal groups via our digital campus.
In the coming year, we are developing the following degree programmes in the medical suite:
- Bachelor Physicians Assistant
- Medical Education (PHD)
Our passion for quality education is not only limited to medical studies- but extends into health, education and educators, as well as innovation at large”
EDU is dedicated to strengthening healthcare workers around the globe, especially those in underserved areas. Our desire is to equip healthcare workers with the skills and knowledge of new medical approaches, digital health technologies and more, wherever they are. We believe this will enable healthcare workers to work more effectively and tackle healthcare issues of the future, as well as helping to address the issue of rural physician retention around the world. We are currently working with several global partners to bring to this goal to life.
However, health does not begin and end with medical professionals exclusively,
We firmly believe that the health of society is reliant on all members of society to play their parts. At EDU, our part continues to be developing a multitude of education-based initiatives in health, education, and caregiving; furthering our goal of ensuring inclusive, equitable education for all.
The following are current and upcoming degrees and short courses EDU will be proudly offering:
Degrees in Education
Already accredited and in collaboration with education experts from around the world, EDU will proudly develop its Bachelor in Early Childhood Education in the coming year.
The ECE sector has been well-researched and proven that the earliest years of life are highly indicative of future well-being. The current structure of ECE in Europe too-often leads to a lack of professionalism and the specialised knowledge required to act meaningfully with the research and evidence on how healthy children develop. This bachelor degree will cover what you, as a 21st century educator, need to know before you start working with children between the ages of 0-8. You will be an ethical leader who can make healthy decisions for children by helping them actualize their capabilities, capacities, and potential.
Graduates of this degree will be able to:
- Communicate effectively in ways that reflect professional values, attitude, behaviour and ethics in relation to optimal childhood education and development;
- Identify the major theories and theorists within the field of Early Childhood Education (ECE);
- Demonstrate an understanding and the knowledge of various skills required to develop, design, adapt, and implement developmentally appropriate curricula including learning goals, experiences, and environments for young children;
- Exhibit competencies in how to apply knowledge gained in instructional planning, classroom management, and required soft skills in a classroom and/childcare centre.
Weight: 180 ECTS
Duration: 3 years full-time
Format: Blended online with local-to-learner offline internship component
Eligibility: MQFL5/Secondary school graduate (please contact admissions@edu.edu.mt with any questions); B2 in English
Audience: All who are interested in working with young children 0-8.
Award Courses in Ageing & Caregiving
Starts: Winter 2021
Everyone will be involved in older adult caregiving at some point in their lives, leaving the caregiver often underprepared and overwhelmed. Whether you’re caring for a loved one or employed to do so, this course will ensure that you are better-equipped to handle any number of situations. By gaining the knowledge needed to support an older adult in their activities of daily living in ways that promote respect and dignity, you can foster healthy ageing habits that are meaningful to the person in your care.
In this course you will learn:
- How to navigate the often-complicated situations of dementia, illness, and depression with confidence
- The do’s and don’ts in caregiving as told by experts
- How to think of and encourage age-appropriate physical and social activities
- Appropriate reactions for emergency situations like heart attack, stroke, and falls
- How to plan how to provide care in the context of COVID-19.
By the end of this course you will be able to navigate your role as a caregiver with the knowledge and confidence you need to be a well-equipped caregiver in any situation.
This course was developed by medical and health professionals and experts from around the world in an EU-funded collaborative effort to address the current and increasing gap between the demand and availability for those who provide care. Currently, 80% of caregiving happens through informal caregivers. With these numbers expected to continue increasing, especially in light of COVID-19, there has never been a more important time for healthy, safe, and effective caregiving.
Content and Overview
This course was designed to teach you how to be a caregiver in multiple contexts that supports learning through videos, quizzes, job aids, and group-work to tackle the most complex caregiving scenarios. As it is all online, you learn at your own pace and connect with your team based on the schedules you make.
Duration: 175 hours
Weight: 7 ECTS
Eligibility: Those holding EQFL4/ secondary school graduate (contact us if you have questions at admissions@edu.edu.mt)
Audience: Anyone who is interested in providing better and safer care for older adults.
Course website
Starts: Fall 2020
COVID-19 has thoroughly demonstrated a gap in caregiver knowledge on how to effectively handle infectious disease contexts involving older adults. This course specifically addresses this gap by covering the basics of infection control and hygiene management, specifically for informal caregivers and nurse aids using internationally recognized World Health Organization-based (WHO) guidelines. From COVID-19 to gastro, the knowledge and skills gained in this course will ensure that you are providing care in ways that keep both you and the person in your care safe.
In this course you’ll learn
- Basic symptoms of an infection reaction and what to do
- Infection prevention and control measures in times of outbreak, like gastro or COVID-19
- How to safely perform fundamental cleaning and disinfection
- Basics of therapeutics and how to help manage symptoms
- Transmission risks for caregivers and what the common infectious diseases are
By the end of this course you will be able to confidently navigate caregiving in infectious disease contexts by having a clear, evidence-based understanding of how the most common diseases and viruses spread and what to do if someone in your care becomes or already is sick.
This course was written in collaboration with EDU’s Faculty of Medicine and older adult care experts from Europe and Canada. It serves also as the final module in EDU’s Foundations in Caregiving and Ageing Award, which provides a much more in-depth training on how to be a caregiver. In light of COVID-19 impacting older adults disproportionately higher than any population, in some areas 80% of COVID-19 related deaths are in 70+ age group, it is more important now than ever before to be equipped in this area. With information that is useful for any population, this course is applicable to broader populations as well, not just those working with older adults.
Content and Overview
We know that learning a new subject can be tough, that’s why we do two things: First, designed the course specifically for those without prior infectious disease knowledge; Secondly, we have trained tutors and mentors to help you along the way.
The actual learning comes in the form of catered videos, non-graded quizzes, and job aids that help you tackle these scenarios with the confidence being prepared brings. Successfully completing the course requires completing the non-graded quizzes, a short key learnings summary where you reflect on what you have learned, as well as a final exam that is proctored and held online.
This course and its materials are provided online, where you learn on your own time, but with the support of tutors and mentors to help .
Duration: 25 hours
Weight: 1 ECTS
Eligibility: Those holding EQFL4/ secondary school graduate (contact us if you have questions at admissions@edu.edu.mt)
Course website, Completed December 2020
In the 21st century, longer life expectancy and a large reduction in mortality have brought dramatic changes in modern society. Guided by the WHO World Report on Ageing and Health and the WHO Global Strategy and Action Plan, you will take a closer look at ageing from a biological and psychosocial perspective. This course will provide you with the knowledge and competencies needed to engage meaningfully with the topic of Healthy Ageing.
You will gain foundational skills in analysing the effects of current socio-economic developments and policies and be able to:
- Develop skills and capacities that will allow for constructive engagement with the topic of Healthy Ageing;
- Reframe how to think about challenges and opportunities for ageing populations;
- Connect with peers to build the international networks necessary to drive impact in policy and practice surrounding Healthy Ageing at scale.
- Contribute to a critical mass of informed leaders engaging in policy discussions around Healthy Ageing.
Alongside this, you will be equipped to effectively assess various health and social care policies, systems and services, as well as facilitate older adults’ continued involvement in their wellbeing through their active involvement in progress. Based on that knowledge, you will be able to develop concrete strategies at the municipal/regional level that outline key steps to optimise and enhance the functional ability of older citizens.
Content and Overview
As this course focuses significantly on how to create meaningful and positive change for older adults, there is a collective focus inherent in how both the learners are taught and engaged. Teamwork and collective action are what will drive change, therefore the main assessment for this course is a group assignment that tackles a group-selected issue in older adult health. As well, there are tutors, mentors and a community manager to help guide learners through the course content, team aspect, and experience at large. Short non-graded quizzes are also present to ensure that learners are on track.
Weight: 1 ECTS
Duration: 25 hours over 4 weeks/ 6.25 hours a week
Format: Online with a team component
Eligibility: MQFL6/A Bachelor’s degree (please contact admissions@edu.edu.mt with any questions); English at a B2 level
Award Courses in Education
In this award course you will learn how to…
- Identify and carry out best practices for online collaboration, including brainstorming, decision-making, delegation, team building, etc.
- Develop an evidence-based instructional design strategy suitable for online environments •Encourage changes in behaviour and performance
- Compare and contrast different online and collaborative learning approaches
- Reflect on giving and receiving constructive feedback
This course is technology-agnostic – meaning it will show you how to teach online, but will not ask you to work with any specific eLearning tools! This micro-degree has been designed to address the needs of current and future teachers and instructors, who are interested in implementing information and communication technology into their classrooms, blended learning options, or teaching online using collaborative online learning methodologies.
Content and Overview
- Become confident with teaching in an online setting
- Gain access to a unique and modern learning platform
- Have the opportunity to connect on projects with peers from around the world
- Receive support every step of the way from dedicated mentors and tutors, end experts from EDU.
ECTS Weight: 4 ECTS points
Eligibility: A bachelor’s degree (contact us if you have any questions); Strong in English language;
Audience: Future/current teachers and instructors, learning technologies managers, technology specialists, instructional designers, curriculum designers, technology coordinators, and learning management specialists.
Award Courses in Health Leadership
Course website
Starts: March 2021
Coupled with the general decline in mortality is a direct impact on the financial and social cost of public and individual health care. This is inevitably resulting in the need to change our collective outlook from healthcare as a reactive space, where you go to the doctor when you are sick, to one of prevention, where we can more effectively target disease before it occurs in a personalised manner. This brings us to precision medicine where its impact on care are shaping medical education and research at a rapid speed, implicates people on all levels; from medical practitioners to recipients of healthcare in general.
By the end of this course you will be able to…
- Summarise what precision medicine is in reference to genomics, technology, and data in healthcare using terms in their appropriate context(s)
- Compare and contrast precision medicine’s pros and cons to healthcare, the healthcare workforce, as well as the ethical considerations to be made in relation to yourself as well as society at large.
- Articulate a broad understanding of precision medicine’s future by explaining key contextual factors in advancement such as the Human Cell Atlas Project, as well as treatment and therapy for citizens and stakeholders.
Being up to date and current with this topic will ensure that you are up-to-date on one of the most interesting and momentous aspects of health today. Which is exactly why EDU teamed up with XPOMET and the Precision Medicine Alliance to create a course that can aims to provide learners with an overview of the field of Precision Medicine and its benefits to themselves as citizens, healthcare recipients, and stakeholders.
Content and Overview
This course was designed to teach you about precision medicine in multiple contexts in ways that support learning through course-catered expert videos, progress quizzes, job aids, and groupwork to tackle your projects, like what setting up a precision medicine centre entails. As it is all online, you learn at your own pace and connect with your team based on the schedules you make together. This course involves a final exam which is proctored and held online.
Weight: 3 ECTS
Duration: 75 hours
Format: Online, team component, tutor and mentor guidance
Eligibility: EQFL 6 or higher; Strong level of English
Audience: This programme will be catered to executives, administrators, policy makers, pharmaceuticals, technology and information technology companies, foundations, patient communities, and other stakeholders in the healthcare industry.
Professional Development
The PISA4U Network is an ever-growing community of educators from all around the world who are interested in tackling issues in education from large to small. Our Network is available to you whether you are deep in a PISA4U course offering or in-between, and access to the Network is always free because we believe educators should be connected to opportunities for ameliorating their craft.
The PISA4U Network is the space for you to…
- Collaborate with other teachers and other educators
- Share best practices and inspiration
- Engage in problem-solving ideas around big issues like COVID-19 and the 2020-2021 classroom
Candena, alongside EDU- A degree smarter, is proudly representing and coordinating one of the world’s largest growing online professional learning communities (PLC) for educators.
Building from a global demand for PISA-related offerings, the PISA4U Network serves as a learning platform that consistently delivers fresh and effective content to educators like yourself on an ongoing basis. This unique PLC is available free of charge to educational practitioners of all types, such as teachers, administrators, education policy actors, and educational researchers around the globe. Join today at https://pisa4u.org/ to keep up to date on educational tips from around the world and to be first to hear of when we will be offering the next PISA4U course!
