Professor Bell said that course costs ranged from about $750 to $1900. Some included Zoom classes and 30-35 hours of guided learning or assessments. He said the courses were not intended to replace the traditional degree and the courses but could be used to gain credit towards a degree.

“The completion of the course is validated by the university and can then be shared with an employer or through LinkedIn. They also suit students with an ambition to return to longer courses of study as they can be ‘stacked’ together to qualify for an advanced degree,” he said.

Professor Bell also said assessment for microcredential courses was often focused on the participant’s workplace and developed with industry.

“There is a stronger connection with what the learner does in their workplace. The aim is that assessment draws on the existing skills of the learner and workplace needs,” he said.

Courses at the University of Melbourne covered a range of areas such as recognising and managing disinformation, cybersecurity in organisations and effective negotiation.

Microcredential programs at the University of NSW and the University of Technology Sydney offered similar courses.

Professor Bell said the MicroCerts program would complement traditional courses and give academics an opportunity to connect with industry.

“On the face of it, this is a new product line, and we’re not suggesting that we dial down our pre-existing programs,” he said. “We are hoping to provide an avenue for staff to fulfil already existing expectations. Academics are increasingly being asked to engage with industry and teaching these MicroCerts is a way of demonstrating those engagement skills.”

Professor Bell said MicroCerts courses aimed to be more interactive than massive open online courses (MOOCs).

“We’re trying to keep the learning experience as curated, boutique and as synchronous as possible. MOOCs are very impersonal and are quite an underwhelming learning experience.

“The industry has found that completion rates [of MOOCs] are dismally low. We want to promote a much more enjoyable and worthy learning experience with real-time interaction with experts,” he said.