In recent decades, the need to provide high-quality digital education to students, workers, and citizens, more broadly, has become increasingly important to overcome barriers related to geographical location, social background, and personal or professional constraints. This objective is being pursued through online and blended learning environments that utilise micro-credentials, promote inter-university pathways and foster a culture of lifelong learning. As part of the Edvance project — one of three Italian Digital Education Hubs funded by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) — the University of Turin has developed a digital learning environment. The platform (https://elearning.unito.it/edvance) offers Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) designed to improve access to advanced digital education for university teachers, staff, and students, as well as the broader public. Developed and published since late 2025, the MOOCs address innovative topics such as artificial intelligence, digital sustainability, data literacy, and transdisciplinarity. Open to national and international students and citizens, they play a key role in supporting inter-university and transdisciplinary learning pathways based on the principles of open education, particularly accessibility, flexibility and reusability, while promoting inclusive and scalable models of higher education. This study analyses qualitative and quantitative data from MOOCs to investigate the impact of this flexible educational model on national and international learners, based on 235 matched responses from initial and final questionnaires. Adopting an open-education perspective, the analysis focuses on perceived learning gain and its variation across different learner profiles. The results show high levels of perceived learning gain, with no statistically significant differences across gender and work status, and a small but significant effect of professional motivation. These findings aim to inform ongoing discussions about the effectiveness of open online courses in higher education and professional development, particularly regarding the fostering of lifelong learning, inclusiveness and innovation.
MOOCs for Open and Lifelong Digital Education: Evidence from the Edvance Digital Education Hub
Marina Marchisio Conte;Cecilia Fissore;Francesco Floris;Valeria Fradiante;Elena Scalambro;Emi Semprevivo
2026-01-01
Abstract
In recent decades, the need to provide high-quality digital education to students, workers, and citizens, more broadly, has become increasingly important to overcome barriers related to geographical location, social background, and personal or professional constraints. This objective is being pursued through online and blended learning environments that utilise micro-credentials, promote inter-university pathways and foster a culture of lifelong learning. As part of the Edvance project — one of three Italian Digital Education Hubs funded by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) — the University of Turin has developed a digital learning environment. The platform (https://elearning.unito.it/edvance) offers Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) designed to improve access to advanced digital education for university teachers, staff, and students, as well as the broader public. Developed and published since late 2025, the MOOCs address innovative topics such as artificial intelligence, digital sustainability, data literacy, and transdisciplinarity. Open to national and international students and citizens, they play a key role in supporting inter-university and transdisciplinary learning pathways based on the principles of open education, particularly accessibility, flexibility and reusability, while promoting inclusive and scalable models of higher education. This study analyses qualitative and quantitative data from MOOCs to investigate the impact of this flexible educational model on national and international learners, based on 235 matched responses from initial and final questionnaires. Adopting an open-education perspective, the analysis focuses on perceived learning gain and its variation across different learner profiles. The results show high levels of perceived learning gain, with no statistically significant differences across gender and work status, and a small but significant effect of professional motivation. These findings aim to inform ongoing discussions about the effectiveness of open online courses in higher education and professional development, particularly regarding the fostering of lifelong learning, inclusiveness and innovation.
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