SIMAD University is now a corporate client of edX Inc., a non-profit online learning destination and MOOC courses provider founded in 2012 by Harvard University and MIT. edX Inc. offers high-quality courses from the world’s best universities and institutions to learners everywhere.

This will allow SIMAD University, through its newly-unveiled IITE Institute, to offer verified courses from the best universities in the world, like Harvard, MIT, Oxford, and Standford. Therefore, the Somali people will have access to the best education contents around the world.

The major advantages of the agreement include:

1. Access to the best education content, open to every Somali person,
2. Real classes: The classes are the same on-campus classes of the respective institutions, delivered by the same professors,
3. Official and verified certificates: Receive an instructor-signed certificate with a valid and verifiable certificate ID. The certification also caries the institution's logo to verify your achievement and increase your job prospects (see here for a sample certificate), and
4. New skills: Learn through cool tools, videos, quizzes, and game-like labs.

How Does SIMAD University Add Value to the Agreement?

The agreement itself is a value that SIMAD University brought to the country. But, in order to ensure that a real knowledge and skill transfer takes place for Somalia, SIMAD University will add more features to increase the value of the agreement for the Somali people. These include:

1. Coaching and mentorship:
   In every course, IITE Institute will offer guidance by bringing mentors from SIMAD University to help students gain as much knowledge as possible from the courses. The mentors themselves have finished the courses first before coaching the students. They know every bit of the journey.
2. Study groups:
   In addition to offering mentors, IITE Institute will also create study groups for every course. The students must come to the institute every Friday afternoon for two to three hours. This will allow them to have group discussions, work on weekly assignments and quizzes, and ask parts that need further clarification to the mentors.
3. Facilities:
   IITE Institute will also offer the required materials including well-equipped classrooms installed with smart boards, video conference room, unlimited internet access, learning materials, labs (if needed by the courses), and free refreshments to help keep the students energized throughout the sessions.

SIMAD University paid so much to get this in place for the sole purpose of creating local expertise that can contribute to the development of Somalia. SIMAD University believes that quality education is a key driving success factor for development.