The Centre for Lebanese Studies at the Lebanese American University and the University College London School of Education organized a consultation workshop on “Community Research Methodology and MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses)” on Tuesday, February 20, 2018 at Crowne Plaza Hotel, Beirut from 10:00 a.m. till 01:30 p.m. 

The workshop brought together researchers, institutions and NGOs who share a common interest in strengthening research capacities in their organizations, communities where they work, and individuals interested in developing their research skills to discuss the content of Blended Learning and MOOCs.

The workshop focused on how to create a curriculum and training programs for the community researchers in order to involve the community members as researchers in research projects from the outset. The role of new technologies and mixed learning models were addressed in the recruitment and training of groups of community researchers in Lebanon.

This workshop is a follow-up to a series of workshops for the ESRC-funded RELIEF Centre, a five-year collaborative project between University College London, the Centre for Lebanese Studies and the American University of Beirut. The RELIEF Centre is an interdisciplinary project aiming to speed up the sustainability transitions that the world critically requires in the context of large-scale movement of people. Focusing specifically on Lebanon, RELIEF will develop a programme of research and education that addresses the challenges of capacity building, public service provision and sustainable value creation in cities with high numbers of refugees.