Online and Remote Learning

Explore writing and meditation practices and overcome blocks to the creative process. In this course, you'll work to create new pathways in your consciousness, open your creativity and eliminate feelings of limitation and inhibition. The course combines meditation, lectures, writing exercises and discussions with a community of like-minded writers. You'll try journaling, sitting, and walking meditation, and writing exercises to help you tell your story, memoir, or poem. As insight develops, creativity, clarity, and happiness arrive. Unblock creative energy and learn lessons of craft. Create connections between your interior and exterior lives. Connect the wisdom within your heart to the written word.  

This course gives you an overview of Enterprise Architecture (EA) and its role in implementing an organization’s strategy.  You'll learn about aligning business and IT and how to use principles, standards, patterns and best practices. Explore the most used EA methodologies, the fundamentals in business, technology and security and the interrelationships between domains. You'll also learn how to measure EA benefits, convey them to key stakeholders and develop architectural and governance skills that follow key frameworks used in the industry (e.g. TOGAF) and use an architectural language (e.g. Archimate). Understand how Enterprise Architecture (EA) helps deliver the organization's vision. Show how EA can influence the overall performance of the organization and affect its competitive advantage. Explain the relationships between business, application, data, technology and security aspects. Advocate good EA practices and appropriate governance. Evaluate the current state of an organization versus its stated vision and goals. Understand the fundamentals about using a disciplined, comprehensive methodology as well as take an agile approach. Explain how an architectural language like Archimate in conjunction with TOGAF. Evaluate the results of an Enterprise Architecture practice.

This course provides a view on current architectural approaches as well as emerging technology trends in the industry.  Not only this is a much needed input into the architectural process, in order to foresee the best strategy for your organization, but you will acquire some of the skills that are in high demand in the market. Selected topics like service-oriented architecture, cloud computing, big data, predictive analytics, etc. will be discussed along with other emerging industry trends. More advanced topics will be introduced as well. You will learn to use Archimate to describe architecture patterns and TOGAF to explain how to apply these trends in a business environment. Some of the components that make up modern environments such as data lakes will be introduced. You will also be able to explain how machine learning and AI can be applied to data in these environments. Apply the tools and techniques commonly used in EA practice. Understand service-oriented architecture and other common enterprise architectural models like Cloud computing, Big Data, Predictive analytics, etc. Understand the importance of data and information and how to best leverage it in your organization Survey current industry trends  and Show how to keep an eye on other emerging technologies, as things change.

When leading organizations get serious about improving processes and optimizing quality, they turn to Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodology. In this five-session micro course, you’ll acquire fundamental skills and techniques needed to execute LSS projects. You’ll learn to identify opportunities for improvement, calculate the cost of poor quality and plan a solution that addresses five distinct LSS phases: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control (DMAIC). You’ll emerge with a keener understanding of why things go wrong and how to design measurable improvements when they do. Within 4-6 weeks of successfully completing this course, you will receive your micro-credential indicating achievement of the outlined learning outcomes and competencies/skills. Micro-credentials are tamper proof, verifiable, blockchain-based and 100% digital. They can be shared on social media, including LinkedIn and Facebook, embedded in websites or downloaded as PDFs. By the end of this micro course, you'll be able to: Identify improvement opportunities within processes. Calculate the cost of poor quality. Plan a DMAIC project. Apply statistical methods to analyze process problems. Competencies/skills developed in this micro course include: Process Mapping Process Analysis Lean Principles Six Sigma Tools DMAIC Methodology Project Management Statistical Methods

If you’ve already taken 2699A Introduction to Lean Six Sigma Methods, or have equivalent knowledge, this five-session micro course will take you deeper into the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) approach. Whether you’re working to improve services or manufacturing processes, you’ll develop a greater ability to measure process performance, identify gaps and opportunities for improvement, and design workable solutions using the DMAIC approach. You’ll learn which tool to use in every phase of a project, whether you’re improving an existing process or implementing something new. Within 4-6 weeks of successfully completing this course, you will receive your micro-credential indicating achievement of the outlined learning outcomes and competencies/skills. Micro-credentials are tamper proof, verifiable, blockchain-based and 100% digital. They can be shared on social media, including LinkedIn and Facebook, embedded in websites or downloaded as PDFs. By the end of this micro course, you'll be able to: Identify opportunities for improvement. Identify LSS tools and techniques to use in each phase of DMAIC. Use the tools and techniques in service or manufacturing processes. Complete an end-to-end LSS project. Competencies/skills developed in this micro course include: DMAIC Methodology Customer Focus Process Management Project Planning Data Analysis

Lean Six Sigma is a strategic tool organizations use to deliver value for customers, generate returns for shareholders and create a meaningful workplace environment for employees. This hands-on course covers widely used concepts associated with the Lean Six Sigma methodology. You'll learn how to identify improvement opportunities, develop solutions and ensure that the benefits are realized. Map the value streams in your organization. Analyze a value stream to improve flow and create demand-driven pull. Calculate takt time and quantify the baseline performance of your value stream. Establish and define standard work. Lead kaizen events to improve the effectiveness of your value stream.

If you've completed 2355 Understanding & Managing Conflict or have equivalent experience, this course will teach you the practical skills you need to effectively manage conflict either as a neutral third party or as a participant seeking the best possible outcome. If you want to excel and lead in managing the conflicts that arise in today's workplaces, this highly interactive and practical course takes you through a learning plan of your own design, starting with a detailed self-assessment. Explore the full range of skills needed to manage conflict. Get insights into which skills to improve. Practise a wide range of conflict-management skills. Develop a meaningful plan for continued skills development.

Fantasy and science fiction allow writers and readers to step outside familiar boundaries into imaginary worlds. In this workshop-style course, you'll learn the elements of both genres and get feedback from a community of writers as you craft the first draft of a new short story. You'll explore the foundations of world-building, plot, scene-setting, character development, and dialogue, as well as honing your critiquing skills. You'll also find out more about the business side of writing fantasy and science fiction. Create plot, narrative and characters that use elements of fantasy and Science Fiction. Learn some of the business aspect of fantasy and science fiction writing. Benefit from a critique of your manuscript.

Accident prevention should be a top priority for all organizations. Reducing accidents means fewer injuries and a boost to your reputation and employee morale. You incur fewer costs related to property damage, reduced productivity and legal liability. In this course, you'll learn the importance of approaching accident prevention systematically. Topics include occupational health and safety (OHS) programs, hazard identification, auditing tools, investigations and case studies. This online course has live webinars.  Understand the true cost of workplace accidents and how to prevent them. Investigate the direct and root causes of workplace accidents. Review the essential elements of an internal responsibility system. Understand the purpose of loss control and loss management programs. Implement an occupational health and safety (OHS) management system.

Want to jump-start your writing, sharpen your focus and create commercially viable work? This course explores a range of popular fiction genres - such as mystery, the thriller, horror, romance, science fiction, fantasy and young adult - and introduces you to a community of like-minded writers. You'll learn how to create strong plots, scenes with impact, three-dimensional characters and believable dialogue. You'll also examine the business of writing, including agents, publishers and the US and international markets. Apply concepts of plotting, pacing and characterization. Write the opening chapter of an original work of genre fiction. Produce a 25-word log line that sums up your project. Investigate the genre fiction marketplace.