New: free MOOC in straw building

The European UP STRAW programme launches a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) all about building with straw: Building for change – Naturally.

Six weeks of free training: time to build sustainably!

MOOC Building for change – Naturally: training in straw construction 

The MOOC “Building for change – Naturally” is a distance learning course written and designed by European partners in English and French. It is hosted on the French learning platform Bâtiment durable. 

This free training course, which is open to everyone for 6 weeks, covers the origins of straw building, the performance of this natural material, the management of a construction project and much more. This course enables anyone, familiar with the world of construction, to discover or improve their knowledge of straw building techniques.

2 clicks, 6 weeks of training, 3 hours per week

The learner goes to the Bâtiment durable platform, registers for the MOOC “Building for change – Naturally” and finds 6 sequences, each comprising 3 to 4 modules:

Sequence 1: Inspirations and origins

Sequence 2: Straw as a building material

Sequence 3: Construction method

Sequence 4: Building physics

Sequence 5: Finishes

Sequence 6: Project management

At the end of the MOOC, a general test validates the knowledge acquired and provides the learner with a certificate of achievement.This is a first on the platform, since this MOOC is bilingual English/French and the audience of this course will be extended to all the partner countries of the UP STRAW project.

Register for the MOOC Building for change – Naturally

> Registration period: from 7 September to 13 November 2020

> Training period: from 5 October to 27 November 2020

Click here: Bâtiment durable platform

This MOOC is one of the actions of the UP STRAW project. It is in the framework of the UP STRAW Interreg North West Europe project that this MOOC was created. UP STRAW supports and stimulates the use of straw in the construction of public and urban buildings in order to provide concrete answers to the problem of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions in the construction sector.

The objective of this MOOC is to increase the skills of professionals in the building sector, on the themes of energy transition and sustainable building. Straw is a premium, natural material that meets all the requirements of sustainable construction. 

About UP STRAW, an Interreg North West Europe project 

UP STRAW is a European project that brings together 5 partner countries: Germany, United Kingdom, Belgium, France (project leader) and the Netherlands who are working together to develop the straw construction and renovation market for public procurement.

Different working groups are working towards these objectives:

  • Long-term effects: compilation of all technical and scientific data related to straw construction via the Zotero database for open source availability.
  • Teaching and knowledge gathering: training of students and professionals in straw construction and integration of straw construction training modules in initial and vocational training courses.
  • Market development for new buildings: straw construction market studies for each country, marketing plan and strategic development.
  • Market development for renovation: market studies, marketing plan and strategic development.
  • Communication: promotion of straw as a quality natural material and dissemination of the actions and progress of the UP STRAW project.
  • Investments: at the end of the project (2021), 5 buildings will have been constructed in each country, either new or renovated, using a specific technique for the use of straw material.