Skytte Institute Supports Moldova State University in Creating the Country’s First MOOC

Over the past month, the Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies at the University of Tartu has been working closely with the academic staff of Moldova State University (MSU), specifically the Faculty of International Relations, Political Sciences and Public Administration (FRISPA), to develop the first-ever Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to be created and offered by a Moldovan university. This initiative is part of the ESTDEV-funded project “Connecting Estonia and Moldova for European Readiness and Innovative Education” (CONNECT4MORE).

To support this effort, the Skytte Institute designed and delivered a comprehensive two-stage training program for the teaching staff of MSU.

The first stage featured an introductory webinar titled “Building MOOCs from Idea to Implementation”, which was open to all interested teaching staff from Moldovan higher education institutions. More than 90 participants registered for the session, which covered the fundamentals of online course development, including instructional design theories and a step-by-step guide to MOOC creation and implementation. Attendees included educators from Moldova State University, Free International University of Moldova, Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova, and "Ion Creangă" State Pedagogical University of Chișinău.

The second stage of the program brought four academic staff members from MSU to Estonia for a one-week intensive training between May 19 to May 24. This phase combined practical workshops, lectures, and study visits in Tartu and Tallinn. Participants explored the Skytte Institute’s online course portfolio, engaged in hands-on training in online assessment design, developed scripts for video lectures, and learned about pratical tips about video recording both in professional studios and at home. They also took part in hands-on Moodle training to create online tests and assessments, and reviewed their own recorded videos.

The Estonian visit included several high-level engagements, including meetings at the Ministry of Education and Research in Tartu, the Institute of Education at the University of Tartu, and the University of Tartu’s Center for Teaching and Learning. In Tallinn, the delegation visited Tallinn University’s EDUSPACE lab, where participants attended a lecture by Dr. Janika Leoste and took part in an educational game. The program concluded with a discussion with Liia Lauri, Assessment Director at the Estonian Quality Agency for Higher and Vocational Education, who shared insights into the national e-course quality mark label competition.

During the training, MSU staff and Skytte Institute experts also began development of the MOOC titled “Moldova and EU Integration”, including the recording of video lectures for the course.

According to Anna Beitane, the organizer of the training program: “this collaboration is a significant step for digital education in Moldova, and we’re glad to support it by coordinating the course development process through the Skytte Institute. What makes this initiative meaningful is not just the creation of the first MOOC by a Moldovan university, but the truly collaborative effort behind it. We’ve worked closely with the Moldova State University team, sharing our practices and experience to help build sustainable capacity for online teaching.

It’s encouraging to see the MSU team so engaged in creating a course that speaks to both national and regional relevance. The skills and insights developed through this process will continue to support innovation in digital learning well beyond this project.”

The project is supported by ESTDEV - Estonian Centre for International Development.

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