The Free Technology Academy
The Free Technology Academy (FTA) aims to contribute to a society that permits all users to study, participate and build upon existing knowledge without restrictions. The FTA offers an online master level programme with course modules about Free Technologies. We encourage you to join the FTA-discussion mailing list to participate in the process! Tuition takes place online in the FTA virtual campus and is performed by teaching staff from the partner universities. Credits obtained in the FTA programme are recognised by these universities on an individual basis as judged by the exam committee. All course materials developed and used by the FTA are freely licensed Open Educational Resources and can be downloaded free of charge, for self study or reuse.
Quick facts about the FTA
- for IT professionals, students, teachers and decision makers
- on Free Software & Open Standards
- only freely licensed materials
- FTA certificates recognised by universities
- a full master programme can be completed at one of the universities
When the FTA started in 2008, the production and use of Open Educational Resources (OER) was applied still marginally. The educational programme of the Free Technology Academy has been an inspiring showcase of the collaborative production and exploitation of such freely licensed course materials. Similarly, the software used in the FTA virtual campus is Free Software and is built upon an Open Standards framework.
The Free Technology Academy is hosted by the Free Knowledge Institute (FKI). The founding partners are the FKI and two European universities: the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Spain) and the Open Universiteit of the Netherlands. The Associate Partner Network adds to the founding base with a widespread network of organisations that share a common interest in offering courses in the area of Free Technology. The FTA was started as an EC funded project (by the Lifelong Learning Programme for Virtual Campuses) and ran from 2008 till 2010, after which the consortium has continued and since 2012 the FTA is hosted by the FKI together with a community of educators and learners.
The FTA partners aim to accelerate the adoption of Free Software and Free Knowledge by working on strategic projects like the FTA, the international SELF Project, and other initiatives. They collaborate with parties to set up a solid ecosystem for the production of free educational materials. With these projects, the FTA partners are among the innovators of the knowledge society.