Fueling creativity for all - a radical approach for online learning
AALTO RADICAL CREATIVITY MOOC
2024
Overview
Reshaping
education.
Diving into Radical Creativity — the Aalto University’s massive open online course — is reshaping online education with its innovative approach to learning. Already in three months attracting 10,000 students from around the globe and celebrating hundreds of course completions, this isn’t just a course—it’s a creative revolution.
Designed for curious minds and bold thinkers, the MOOC empowers participants to embrace new perspectives to creativity, challenge conventions, and build skills to solve real-world challenges.
Making radical creativity accessible for everyone.
The Challenge
Our mission was to design an online course that could meet the diverse needs of a global audience while maintaining a high standard of creativity and engagement. The course had to appeal to learners with varying levels of experience, cultural backgrounds, and learning styles, all while ensuring accessibility and inclusivity.
Additionally, we wanted to create a sense of community and collaboration in an online environment, where learners often feel isolated. Balancing innovation with practicality, and personalization with inclusivity, was a central challenge throughout our design process.
Key features
Personalized exploration
Learners navigate freely between chapters, creating a journey as unique as their ambitions.
Engagement through gamification
Micro-rewards like badges, points, and digital tokens celebrate every achievement, keeping learners motivated and inspired.
Innovative grading system
Automatic grading delivers instant feedback, while real-world assignments foster collaboration and community building.
Real-world relevance
Assignments incorporate practical, hands-on activities that connect course content to everyday life and work challenges.
Accessible to all
A seamless platform ensures a consistent, high-quality experience across devices, making the MOOC open to students, professionals, and lifelong learners alike.
Meaningful recognition
Upon completion, learners earn digital certificates, with Aalto University students gaining academic credits to further their educational journey.
Design principles
Innovation and
inclusivity.
By offering a flexible, personalized learning journey with 25 customizable sub-chapters, we enabled learners to tailor their experience to their unique goals and interests. Through gamification, interactive exercises, and real-world applications, we fostered engagement and ensured that creativity became actionable.
We also prioritized accessibility across devices and formats, ensuring that the course remained open to diverse audiences. Ultimately, we built a platform that not only inspires individual growth but also encourages global collaboration and transformative change.
Learners and their journey
Platform for
continuous growth
and discovery.
The MOOC serves a wide range of participants, from Aalto students to professionals exploring new creative horizons. The learner journey is designed to inspire at every step: from onboarding and personalized course selection to engaging exercises, progress tracking, and ultimate course completion with a certificate of achievement. This isn’t just a course; it’s a platform for continuous growth and discovery.
Launchpad for bold ideas.
Impact
The Aalto Radical Creativity MOOC is making waves in online education, reaching its initial goal of 10,000 registered users in less than three months. With already thousands participating and hundreds of success stories of completion, the course is driving a global movement to embrace creativity as a powerful tool for innovation. It’s more than a learning platform—it’s a launchpad for bold ideas and transformative change.
“This MOOC isn’t just about learning—it’s about transforming how we think, collaborate, and create radical solutions for a better future.
We wanted to make world-class design and creativity education accessible to anyone, anywhere.”
Riikka Mäkikoskela
Head of Radical Creativity, Aalto University
Quotes from Aalto Radical Creativity MOOC students
”I am very surprised that such a comprehensive and high-quality course is available for free.”
”This course is an excellent chance of getting to breath fresh air amidst of all ”pollution” one is intaking on a daily basis.”
“I commend you on designing such an exquisite curriculum that not only captures the essence of creativity but also inspires learners to think beyond the conventional boundaries.”
”I’m super grateful for this course. I love it!”