Northumbria Law School collaborates with Law Society of Ireland to deliver MOOC

Northumbria Law School is strengthening its partnership with the Law Society of Ireland by participating in a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC).

The Law School, which is the largest in the North East of England, is already offering its much-in-demand Advanced Legal Practice LLM programme jointly with the Law Society of Ireland. It is now also collaborating with the Society’s Diploma Centre on the launch of its 2017 Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Tuesday 9 May. ‘Employment law in the digital era’ is the latest in the Society’s series of MOOCs. It illustrates the Society's commitment to embrace technology and the provision of legal education online but it also taps into the wider public interest aim to provide wider access to legal education and the solicitors’ profession.

MOOCs are a free online course open to all and are specifically designed for large numbers of participants. To-date, the Diploma Centre’s MOOCs have attracted over 6000 participants from over 60 countries since they first launched in 2014. Such courses feature online recorded and streamed presentations, together with interactive discussion forums that allow participants to engage directly with our expert presenters.

This year’s MOOC ‘Employment law in the digital era: Brexit, borders and offices without walls – challenges and impacts in uncertain times’ will comprise presentations from experts in the field of employment law. New and emerging employment law themes will be considered from the perspective of the employment law and industrial relations framework that pertains in Ireland. For example, employees are working far more flexible hours and spending less time in a formal work environment where standards of conduct are more readily applicable. Such issues challenge the traditional boundaries of the employment relationship.

Furthermore, in the context of Brexit, the MOOC will highlight the commonalities between the employment law framework in Ireland and England & Wales that could potentially provide UK firms with a level of familiarity and comfort engaging in business and employing staff in Ireland that simply will not be present for possible alternative locations within the Single Market. 

The course runs over a 5-week period with materials for the weekly modules released every Tuesday in the form of a number of short videos presentations from expert contributors. These are supported by suggested readings, quizzes, and ‘live’ online Q&A session with the relevant experts. Participants who successfully complete weekly tasks and collect 4 ‘badges’ may opt to obtain a Certificate of Completion awarded by the Law Society of Ireland.

To sign up visit: https://mooc2017.lawsociety.ie/

For more information on the Advanced Legal Practice LLM, as well as the other Law courses Northumbria offers, visit: https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/study-at-northumbria/courses/advanced-legal-practice-dl-dtdalp6/