The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation was established in 1945 with the aim of establishing world peace through education, science, and cultural confluence and actively works in educating masses through scientific means and helps in maintaining and preserving countries’ cultural and historical monuments.
With its 1.3 billion US dollar budget, UNESCO sponsors projects that improve literacy, provide technical training and education, advance science and preserve regional and cultural history. Over time, it has founded and funded many projects including FRESH, OANA, ASOMPS, and Migration Museums.
List of 12 Best UNESCO Online Courses and Certifications
1. ICT Essentials Course For Teachers – Zimbabwe – Open Learning from UNESCO
The curriculum of this course provides you with the necessary skills and technical knowledge in incorporating Information and Communication Technology into your teaching which will also help in your professional development.
This 12 module course will touch upon the various ICT tools that can be used to improve teaching such as the use of Microsoft Word, MS Powerpoint, and will also demonstrate to you how such ICT tools can improve the quality of learning.
Course Highlights:
- The course comprises 12 modules.
- Learn the basic parts and peripherals of a computer.
- Learn to use MS Word and Powerpoint.
- Learn to maintain a record management system and the use of a spreadsheet package.
- Learn how ICT can improve the overall quality of the study package.
- Learn to locate resources that help in both teaching and professional development.
Duration: 98 hours
Eduinformer rating: 4.8/5
2. Global Citizenship Education for Sustainable Development – Open Learning from UNESCO
This five-week online course will equip you with the necessary idea, knowledge, values, activities, and skills necessary for addressing local, national as well as global challenges. This course will help you become a global citizen by understanding the various cognitive, social, and behavioral dimensions necessary for establishing peace, liberty, justice, and sustainable human development and will further your knowledge of international spheres.
As a teacher, this will greatly benefit you in helping to teach the students the concept of a global citizen.
Course Highlights:
- A key course under the UNESCO’s ASPnet Project – Teacher Training and Support for Global Citizenship Education (GCED): Strengthening capacities for effective teaching of the cognitive, socio-emotional and behavioral dimensions of learning.
- Learn to teach the students in such a way that they are empowered to solve problems of a local, national, and international character.
- Course funded by Hainan Provincial People’s Government Fund for ASPnet.
- Learn to foster cognitive and behavioral learning dimensions.
Duration: 5 weeks
Eduinformer rating: 4.9/5
3. Rapid Teacher Training Programme on Distance, Open and Online Learning – Open Learning from UNESCO
This four-week online course will help you understand how digital learning can be employed to continue education even in times of pandemics such as the COVID pandemic. The course will introduce you to the basic digital skills, remote learning methods, and the use of Information and Communication Technology in teaching through distance learning methods and will help you to essentially identify the ways in which such can help in improving the quality of education.
Course Highlights:
- The course comprises 3 modules.
- Get equipped with the skills and resources needed to deliver suited remoted learning forms using no-, low- and high-tech digital tools.
- Learn how Teacher Capacity Development Programme can help in improving the quality of instruction.
- Contains presentations, lectures, reading lists, and related resources.
- Learn to create Open Education Resources.
Duration: 4 weeks
Eduinformer rating: 4.9/5
4. Anticipatory Governance – Open Learning from UNESCO
This course led and facilitated by the researchers at the Centre for Sustainability Transitions (CST) at Stellenbosch University provides you with case-study-based instruction in anticipatory governance in order to plan and envision the uncertain future.
This four-module course will help you to correctly understand the difference between anticipatory governance and policymaking besides teaching you the resilient ways of operating in governance.
Course Highlights:
- The course has 4 modules.
- Get introduced to anticipatory governance and its benefits.
- Utilizes case studies from South Africa to demonstrate the benefits of anticipatory governance.
- Learn from experts in anticipatory governance, futures literacy, and foresight, resilience and complexity thinking, and social-ecological systems.
- Contains short videos, discussions, case studies, key readings, and short assessments.
- Get an insight into the diverse approaches that can be taken in times of complexity, uncertainty, and change.
Duration: Self Paced
Eduinformer rating: 4.8/5
5. GIS Techniques for Mapping Sustainable Mining – Open Learning from UNESCO
This online course on Geographic Information System for Sustainable Mining will help you to acquire the necessary knowledge required for generating a sustainability atlas for Southern Africa. This course will help you acquire the skills necessary for mapping and producing a pilot atlas for sustainable mining and gain confidence in applying the same.
Course Highlights:
- The course has 2 parts – Introduction to GIS and GIS for Sustainable Mining.
- Learn about the QGIS interface and coordinate reference systems.
- Get introduced to the use of rastor and vector data along with plugins and other mapping technologies.
- Get introduced to the Weights of Method and understand mapping sustainability through a case study.
- Materials are accessible through the UNESCO Virtual Learning platform.
Duration: 32 hours
Eduinformer rating: 4.7/5
6. Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy and Governance Systems – Open Learning from UNESCO
This six-module online course will provide you with an integrated approach to review or develop, implement, monitor, and evaluate Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) policy and governance systems while keeping in mind the sustainable socio-economic development of communities.
Enrolling in this course will help you gain useful knowledge in the importance of STI policies in various fields along with that in the measurement of the national system of innovation.
Course Highlights:
- The course comprises 7 modules.
- Learn about the importance of Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy.
- Learn about the evolutionary history of the National Systems of Innovation(NSI) framework.
- Learn about the measurement of innovation and innovation capacities.
- Learn how STI policy can be used to create inclusive development gain a regional and continental perspective in the implementation of such policies.
- Learn from experienced faculty of various accredited universities.
Duration: 280 hours
Eduinformer rating: 4.7/5
7. Introduction to Climate Risk Informed Decision Analysis(CRDA) – Open Learning from UNESCO
This twelve module course will provide you an introduction to the topic of Climate Risk Informed Decision Analysis(CRDA) which is a collaborative approach to an uncertain future. Through the readings, lectures, and material provided in this course, you will not only learn about CRDA in general but will also develop your own case study based on your local conditions.
Course Highlights:
- The course comprises 12 modules, with each approximately one hour.
- Contains readings, video lectures, knowledge checks, and assignments.
- Learn from the presentations from scientists from Stellenbosch University in South Africa.
- Learn to develop your own case study based on your regional situations.
Duration: 12 hours
Eduinformer rating: 4.6/5
8. Climate Justice: Lessons from the Global South – FutureLearn
This online course will help you gain knowledge about the key implications of the ethical dimensions implied by climate change and utilizes case studies from the resilient policies undertaken by the marginalized sectors of the society – the “Global South”.
This course will teach you to develop a notion of climate change that balances the ecological integrity of nature while still supporting the biological and economic needs of humans. By the end of this course, you will have also learned about other concepts such as climate change vulnerabilities and those from the philosophies of the Global South.
Course Highlights:
- Get answers to a number of fundamental questions regarding climate justice and the exploitation of nature.
- Learn how a sustainable world can be developed while keeping in mind the ecological integrity of nature along with allowing humans to extract necessary resources.
- Learn about climate justice by following the recommendations of the UNESCO’s World Commission for Ethics of Science and Technology(COMEST).
Duration: 4 weeks
Eduinformer rating: 4.7/5
9. UNESCO and Teacher Task Force Teacher Policy Development Guide – Open Learn
This online course will introduce you to evidence-based education and its benefits and will support governments to develop such an evidence-based education policy for their own countries. This five-chapter course will also touch upon the necessary policies required for the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals 4.
Course Highlights:
- Learn about public education authorities and private education providers and the role of educational stakeholders.
- Learn about dimensions, phases, and implementation of such an education policy.
- The course contains both materials as well as quizzes to be attended by enrollees.
- The course is also available in Arabic, French, and Spanish.
Duration: Self-Paced
Eduinformer rating: 4.7/5
10. Systems Thinking and Complexity – Future Learn
This course will help you gain the necessary practical tools for producing solutions to complex social and organizational problems at a local, national and global level. Moreover, you will gain important knowledge about Complex Systems systems and will also get to know about many essential problem-solving techniques.
By enrolling in this course, you will benefit in terms of both theoretical knowledge as well as practical application knowledge for solving problems of complex characters.
Course Highlights:
- A self-paced online course.
- Learn to apply systems thinking to solve problems of different levels of complexity.
- Learn to apply the method of drawing systems diagrams to represent systems and their dynamics.
- Learn to apply the knowledge of feedback loops.
- Learn to apply the Formal Systems Model to practical solutions.
Duration: Self Paced
Eduinformer rating: 4.7/5
11. Introduction to Data Science with Google Analytics: Bridging Business and Technical Experts – Future Learn
This course introduces you to the fundamental understandings of data science through Google Analytics and will teach you to create and use tracking codes and observe the types of data it produces.
By the end of this course, you will have gained the practical knowledge necessary for starting with data science.
Course Highlights:
- A self-paced online course.
- Learn how data science and data analytics provide valuable data on the characteristics and behaviors of website users.
- Learn how to make Google Analytics scripts and insert them into websites.
- Learn to interpret the data obtained after applying your code.
Duration: Self Paced
Eduinformer rating: 4.6/5
12. Tech for Good: The Role of ICT in Achieving the SDGs – SDG Academy
This course brings together leaders and changemakers in the field of Information and Communication Technologies(ICT) and sustainable development to demonstrate to you how ICT can be used to improve the performance and efficiency of sectors such as education, healthcare, banking, government services besides learning about various innovations in ICT such as big data.
By the end of this course, you will not only have gained knowledge about the benefits of ICT but also will have become informed of the challenges and problems that can be caused by technology such as privacy, data management, and e-waste.
Course Highlights:
- Learn how ICT can improve transparency and encourage collaboration.
- Learn about the responsible collection and storage of data.
- Learn why ICT projects should be contextualized and inclusive.
- Learn about bias in technology design and implementation.
Duration: Self Paced
Eduinformer rating: 4.8/5
