The English-speaking Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Marine Litter of the Open University, launched in 2015, had almost 6,500 participants. In May 2017, nearly 3,000 participants followed the second version of the MOOC. The language of both courses was English.

Taking into account the global problem of ocean pollution, it has now been decided to offer the MOOC in Spanish. Ansje Löhr, project leader of the Massive Open Online Course on Marine Litter: "We realized that more than 1 billion people speak English. And that almost 500 million can speak Spanish. World citizens who mostly live in countries with an immense coastline. Think not only of Spain and parts of the United States, but also Central America and the western part of South America."

The registration for the Spanish language MOOC is now possible. Students will participate in the training as from 29 January 2018.

Marine Litter

The global pollution of seas and oceans by (plastic waste is a growing problem that requires a global approach. It is identified by the United Nations as one of the most important environmental problems of the 21st century. The plastic waste that ends up in the environment offers great risks. For example, it is harmful to organisms living in the sea, and there is increasing evidence that (micro-)plastics can enter our food chain through accumulation.

MOOC Cooperation with UN Environment

In recent years, UN Environment has been working on a global network for the prevention and management of marine litter. This has led, among other things, to the creation of the Global Partnership on Marine Litter, in which UN Environment and Open University have jointly developed the MOOC on Marine Litter. The MOOC provides insight into the latest developments, and provides guidance on how to map out and tackle the problem in your own (working) environment.

Education and research

Researchers from the Science department of the faculty of Management, Science & Technology have been involved for several years in research into the causes and effects of plastic pollution, and possible solutions, among others within the project Schone Maas Limburg and with research partners in Indonesia.

More information

More information about the MOOC edition 2020 can be found at Massive Online Course on Marine Litter.