The landscape of MOOCs and Higher Education in Europe and the USA

European countries are late adopters of MOOCs compared to the USA. However, starting from 2013, several initiatives were launched in Europe by both Higher Education institutions and governments, giving origin to a considerable number of ‘European’ MOOCS and platforms. As it happened for the US, also in Europe MOOCs enjoyed a huge degree of attention on the media. Nonetheless, so far very few studies addressed similarities and differences of the diffusion of MOOCs on the two sides of the Atlantic Ocean from an institutional standpoint. Which are the unique features, the strengths and weaknesses of each models? Which are the peculiar features of the diffusion of MOOCs in Europe as opposed to the United States? This work-in-progress paper addresses these questions aiming to accomplish a comparison of the two experiences. Building on existing literature about the institutional configuration of MOOCs in Europe and USA the paper highlights patterns of diffusion, main differences and similarities across the two cases.