The Law Society of Ireland’s third Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) has attracted 2,682 participants from 30 countries around the world. The Law Society of Ireland is committed to using technology in innovative ways.

The course, ‘Privacy, a human right for the digital age’, was delivered online over five weeks by the Society’s Diploma Centre team. It comprised presentations from experts in data protection and digital privacy, live online discussions and assessments, and the balance between an individual’s right to privacy and the efficient use of data by companies and other organisations.

“The great number of participants illustrates how relevant and up to date the course material is,” according to Law Society Director of Education T P Kennedy. “Specific content such as cyber security threats, the EU-US Privacy Shield – or the ‘Safe Harbour’ agreement as it is known - and the impact of emerging technology including drones and ‘the internet of things’ are extremely topical and of interest to a wide range of people.”

“The MOOCs we are providing are appealing to a very broad range of professionals globally. Less than half of the course participants described themselves as having a legal background in terms of their profession. Our continued commitment to MOOCs is enabling us to widen access to legal education and to the legal profession.” 

Mr Kennedy added, “MOOCs bring learners from around the world together in a totally new way. This method of learning and teaching promotes interaction between faculty here at the Society and a much wider audience than any traditional education can offer.”

For those who want to explore more in this area and receive a Law Society accreditation, the data protection MOOC acts as a bridge to the Society’s Certificate on Data Protection Practice. The Certificate takes place in autumn 2016 and will feature in-depth coverage of many of the topics introduced in the MOOC.

More information can be found at mooc.lawsociety.ie.

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