New Delhi, Jan 22 (KNN)  The World Economic Forum today launched the Forum Academy, an online learning platform in partnership with edX, to deliver professional leadership courses.  It is a non-profit initiative created by founding partners Harvard University and MIT.

Forum Academy will provide continuous leadership development and updating, offering courses for professionals and organizations to enhance their strategic knowledge in a fast-changing world. 

Sign up is now open for the first course, Global Technology Leadership, which will start in May 2014, according to WEF. Aimed at current and future leaders, the course will give an overview of the key emerging technologies that are driving technological shifts and reshaping the social, political and economic context.

On the need for the courses offered, “As rapid technological, economic and social changes affect the context of professional work, there is a pressing need for insights into the latest developments and best practices on relevant topics. Forum Academy will help to address this need for yearly certified updates on the latest professional developments, leveraging the Forum’s worldwide multi-stakeholder network of the best and most relevant knowledge providers,” a WEF press release said.

“The professional leadership courses will focus on specific global issues and industries. It will also focus on regional developments and provide updates related to professional and technological issues,” it said. 

Commenting on the academy, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum Professor Klaus Schwab said, “The reshaping of our world requires professionals to develop a transformational mindset and constantly update their knowledge. However, this knowledge is becoming increasingly difficult to attain through traditional means, precisely due to the growing complexity, velocity and uncertainty in the world.

“Forum Academy will contribute to the mission of the Forum by providing a global audience with strategic insights on global, industry and regional developments,” he added.

Offering his comments, President of edX Anant Agarwal, said: “Like the World Economic Forum, edX is committed to improving the lives of people around the globe. We are happy to provide the Forum Academy with the cutting-edge educational tools needed to create courses that will enable leaders – of today and tomorrow – to transform their communities, countries and regions.”

The Academy brings a Davos-level curriculum on global, regional and industry topics to a global audience.  It also enables top business, academic, political and other leaders of society to interact with future leaders.

Forum Academy will catalyse an online global learning environment for continuous and certified professional development; create a world-class curriculum, providing cutting-edge global, regional and sectorial knowledge; and establish a network of academic and other members to develop standards, best practices and joint certification models.  (KNN/ES)