EdX partners with The Linux Foundation to launch a free online course on Linux

EdX, the online learning initiative founded by Harvard and MIT, has announced a new partnership with The Linux Foundation, under which the course ‘Introduction to Linux' will now be offered. This course on basic Linux training will be free to help students become better equipped to be among the hundreds of thousands professionals supporting the open source operating system. Previously offered as an online course for Rs 144,000, ‘Introduction to Linux' will be The Linux Foundation’s first free Massive Open Online Course (MOOC).

The Linux Foundation has long offered a wide variety of online training courses for the Linux operating system for a fee. This introductory class on edX.org, for Linux beginners and experts alike, will begin this summer and will be the first from The Linux Foundation to run as a MOOC. Nearly 90,000 people have registered to date, and with no cap on registration, many more are expected to enrol.

Jim Zemlin, the foundation's executive director, said: “Our mission is to advance Linux and that includes ensuring there is a talent pool of Linux professionals. To deepen that talent pool and give more people access to the best career opportunities in the IT industry, we are making our Linux training program more accessible to users worldwide.” He added, “EdX shares our values in increasing access to course material that can help learners achieve their personal goals and advance important technologies like Linux. EdX, like the Linux Foundation, is notforprofit and uses open source to innovate. Our partnership is a natural one, and we look forward to working together to bring important knowledge to the masses.”