David Boyd, associate professor at the Duke Global Health Institute, has traveled and conducted research in over 60 countries, working on projects like creating health education programs for indigenous communities in Guatemala and examining the efficacy of traditional medicine in China and sub-Saharan Africa. Boyd is now trying to have a global impact through a different means: an open online course on Coursera.

The free course, “The Challenges of Global Health,” starts January 26. Boyd’s goal is to offer a “gateway course” – a short course for individuals with little or no experience in global health, such as high school or beginning college students who are trying to determine if they should pursue a degree in the field.

“The most important thing to teach is global health literacy; in other words, to understand the very basic concepts of what global health is and how it works,” said Boyd. Participants will learn about key global health challenges, the complexes causes of these challenges, and important global health actors working on solutions.

The course will look in particular at the developing world, not only through lecture videos but through several interviews with experts and videos Boyd has filmed of his work in the field on five continents. “One thing I emphasize throughout is our global interdependence, and not just of humans, but rather of humans, animals, and the environment” said Boyd.

“The Challenges of Global Health” will be one of the first Duke courses on Coursera to be offered on-demand. Coursera’s on-demand courses do not have start dates or deadlines and are self-paced, allowing users to complete courses on their own schedule.

Boyd likes the on-demand option because the content can be more easily adapted by educators who want to use it as part of their own curriculum. “If teachers want to use it in classes, they have much more control over the flow.” Boyd, in turn, is interested to hear about creative ways teachers use these materials with students.

To register for “The Challenges of Global Health,” visit the course page on Coursera. For more information on open courses and online education at Duke, visit online.duke.edu.