MITx MOOC Introduction to Computer Science using Python reaches 1.2 million enrollments 

Published on August 16, 2023

MITx's online course, Introduction to Computer Science using Python, was created as an online offering in 2012, and has now become the most popular online course in MIT’s history. It is also the most popular course of all time on the edX platform. Last week, MIT News reported that there have been 1.2 million course enrollments to date. From the article: 

The course is derived from a campus-based and OpenCourseWare subject at MIT developed and originally taught at MIT by John Guttag, the Dugald C. Jackson Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. “Although on the surface it’s a computer programming course with Python, it’s really not about Python or even programming,” explains Guttag. “It’s about teaching students to use computation, in this case described by Python, to build models and explore broader questions of what can be done with computation to understand the world.” 

Enrolling in this course has provided new career pathways for a wide range of learners, including several of J-WEL's target populations, such as workers who have been displaced by automation and refugees. Muhammad Enjari, who fled Syria with his family after the Syrian revolution began in 2011, is one such learner. Enjari had a degree in petroleum engineering but could not find a job in Jordan, where he had resettled. MIT News shared his story: 


In his journey to jumpstart a new career, Enjari enrolled in 6.00.1x as part of the MIT Refugee Action Hub, or ReACT, a yearlong Computer and Data Science Program (CDSP) curriculum. He received a 100 percent on the final exam and a 100 percent final grade. “Because of this course and others, I will be starting a new job in two weeks as a paid intern in computer engineering with Edraak, a MOOC platform similar to edX for Arabic-speaking students,” he adds.

Read more. 

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