Blended and Online Learning (BOLD) short courses

As higher education evolves, skilled professionals are needed to drive online and blended learning initiatives that meet the diverse needs of students and institutions. The Blended and Online Learning Design (BOLD) short courses address the growing demand for flexible, accessible, and impactful education in Africa.

BOLD is designed to support professionals in the fields of educational technologies, instructional and learning design to understand the foundations and develop critical skills, knowledge and orientations in blended and online learning design. Through these short courses, participants will strengthen their understanding of the current practices, issues and trends in the field globally and locally, to create and manage flexible, innovative, and contextually relevant learning designs and experiences for a diverse range of learning contexts.

The BOLD short courses are ideal for working professionals in education, training, or related fields who want to enhance their expertise in designing blended and online learning environments.

BOLD targets academic professionals and educators, instructional and learning designers, educational technologists and training professionals. Graduates of the BOLD short courses will be well-equipped to:

• Facilitate and lead blended and online learning design projects.
• Support educational institutions and systems in their digital transformation.
• Enhance learning experiences in corporate, NGO, or higher education contexts. 

For 2025, each BOLD short course costs ZAR 5500. The following discounts are available:

• UCT staff are entitled to a 30% discount i.e. R3850. No refund is offered for staff who subsequently register for the PGDip.
• Current full-time postgraduate students from any institution are entitled to 50% discount i.e. R2750.
• If you are registering for a short course, please request a discount voucher code from pgbold@uct.ac.za BEFORE you make payment. Refunds will not be granted after enrolling.  

All BOLD courses are structured around a six-week cycle. Courses are delivered fully online, using UCT’s Amathuba platform and Zoom. Live webinars are hosted on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 16:00 until 18:00.  Additional coaching sessions, for academic and digital support purposes, are hosted on Fridays from 14:00 until 15:00.

Enrolment to a BOLD short course is through UCT’s Learning Store.

There are three certificates for BOLD short courses:

1. Attendance Certificate
   Participant has attended 80% of workshops.
2. Participation Certificate
   Participant has not submitted or successfully completed the final assessment for a course but has attended 80% of workshops and successfully completed the coursework.
3. Pass Certificate
   Participant has attended 80% of workshops, submitted and obtained a passing grade for the required coursework and assessments.

If a participant is interested in registering for a PGDIP, they should note the following:

• Participants interested in a formal qualification can transfer BOLD short courses into the Postgraduate Diploma in Blended and Online Learning (PGBOLD) which will be offered from 2026 (for more information visit the School of Education website).
• Participants can take up to three BOLD short courses as stand-alone short courses before formally applying for the PGBOLD and will be awarded the credits via Recognition for Prior Learning via (RPL) Advanced Standing after being accepted into the programme as permitted by paragraph 2.6 of UCT’s Senate Policy on Continuing Education.
• In order to apply for RPL, participants must meet the criteria for a PASS short course certificate and complete the course with a GPA of 70% or more. Completed BOLD short courses will need to be transferred into the PGDBOLD within two years of completing the short course. For more information view the UCT Continuing Education policy. 

BOLD courses are convened by staff members in the Academic Staff Development cluster in the Centre for Innovation of Learning and Teaching (CILT). Find the profiles of staff members here. However, all courses are co-created and co-taught with colleagues, guest speakers, past students, to respond to the emergent and fast paced change of the field of BOLD and ensure that all contexts and target groups are covered.

The following short courses will be offered in 2025:

1. Designing with AI

• Cohort 1: 03/02-16/03/2025
• Cohort 2: 07/07-17/08/2025
• Cohort 3: 01/09-12/10/2025

2. Introduction to learning design

• 09/06-20/07/2025

3. Learning design models

• 07/07-17/08/2025

4. Learning design in practice

• 30/06-10/08/2025 (online block week 07/07-11/07)

5. Facilitating online

• 06/10-22/11/2025

6. Design thinking for learning designers

• TBC

7. Project management for learning designers

• TBC

For more info email pgbold@uct.ac.za

Link to expression of interest form