Our reputation for education

The Bristol Futures open online courses demonstrate our commitment to excellence in education. Created through true collaboration with students and other stakeholders, their innovative approach, with an emphasis on personal development and interdisciplinary working, is evidence of our belief in enhancing the wider skills and attributes of our graduates.

Our commitment to the academic development of our students

Through our Vision and Strategy, we aspire to develop skilled, adaptable and resilient graduates. The Bristol Futures open online courses build upon our existing strength in research-rich disciplinary education by offering students opportunities to engage more widely outside their established curriculum.

Building partnerships

By promoting the courses widely as open educational resources, we will build relationships with local schools and colleges, and national and international university exchange partners.

‌Engagement with the city of Bristol

Bristol Futures offers the University a chance to reconnect with the city of Bristol. The three themes of innovation and Enterprise, Global Citizenship and Sustainable Futures have been chosen to resonate with the values of not only the University of Bristol, and its staff and students, but also with those of the city of Bristol itself.

Showcasing the University and city

The city of Bristol is at the heart of all of each of the open online courses. It is the backdrop for many of the videos and is used to illustrate both the challenges and opportunities of living and studying in such a vibrant and diverse multicultural environment.

Supporting research

The Bristol Futures open online courses represent a unique preparation for interdisciplinary challenge-based research. The courses are just as relevant for research students as for taught students, encouraging them to think creatively beyond their subject discipline.

Helping staff to promote academic development

Promoting personal development and self reflection are at the core of Bristol Futures. Through the mapping of the courses against the Bristol Skills Framework, staff can offer targeted advice to their students on opportunities to help them in their academic development.

Enhancing student wellbeing

By allowing students to explore the challenges of personal development in a safe and supportive environment, the courses offer an alternative approach to enhancing student wellbeing. We address topics such as personal sustainability and discuss strategies for coping when life gets difficult. We also explore issues such as difference and diversity to help students understand how they can make a contribution to society.

Attracting the best students

Because the open online courses are openly available through the FutureLearn platform, we will inspire prospective students, demonstrating our approach to education with its emphasis not only on subject-specific knowledge and understanding, but also wider skills and attributes. This will help us to recruit the very best students, and, by taking the courses even before they arrive, give them a head start to enable them to achieve their full potential at the University of Bristol.