For those unfamiliar with the MIT Challenge, it can be described as an attempt to learn the entire 4-year bachelor's degree in Computer Science proposed by the thinker Scott H. Young. He took all courses in an online fashion by using pre-recorded classes from the MIT OpenCourseWare listing.

This whole challenge was created before the popularization and proposal of the MOOC platforms and attracted a lot of buzz from various universities, students and independent learners alike. Complete detailed information on why Scott did it can be viewed in his TEDx talk.

If you think this idea is crazy, just know that he actually did it, effectively completing 33 courses required for acquiring a major in CS over the course of 12 months. Like the exceptional learner that he is, shortly after the challenge was completed he wrote about what he would change about this challenge, and if it was all worth it.

Even though this might seem a lit bit outdated when compared to modern solutions such as Coursera and EDx, there is a lot to learn from this endeavor and the philosophy behind it. Like Scott, I think that our traditional educational system, even with current improvements, still falls behind in terms of actual knowledge application and transfer in everyday life. Our workplace has changed much, and overall on-the-job skill acquisition is increasingly more important than having a particular university degree. This requires a self-directed and everlasting approach to learning, which has been called as lifelong learning.

However, it is one thing to argue that our learning is our responsibility alone, but another completely different to actually know what you need to learn. For that, we need at least a minimum understanding of the subject we are trying to understand and then search for online resources, books and MOOC courses that will provide the path to master it.

For example, let’s say I want to learn Genetic Engineering and CRISPR techniques, just for fun (nerdy, I know); I have no idea where should I start, which subjects are crucial for this field and, most importantly, where should I focus my efforts on. Should I tackle Basic Biology? Chemistry? Medicine? Physics? For that to be effective, I need a guide or at least a general direction to move forward.

In that sense, the MIT Challenge is as relevant as ever, not as a means to replicate as closely as possible a particular MIT degree with fewer costs, as it was originally proposed, but as a guide towards understanding and learning as much as possible a particular area of interest.

With that in mind, I propose an adaptation called simply the Learning Challenge, which is focused on directing learning towards a particular area of interest, without unnecessary “clutter” from traditional degrees and using the lessons learning from Scott’s own challenge.

The Learning Challenge

This challenge is derived from the MIT equivalent, and has the objective of learning a particular area of expertise as best as possible, focusing on skills that can actually be used in the everyday aspects of a job in this area, or that fulfills a particular learning need. Contrary to the MIT version, it does not intend to replicate closely an MIT degree, but use it as a cornerstone and guide for entering in a new subject.

How to do it

Find a particular area that is closely related to an MIT undergraduate or graduate course.

Understand and define clearly why you are trying to learn this area; define clear goals and projects to be executed related to it, in order to successfully complete the challenge.

1. Based on these projects, look into the Departmental Program requirements for acquiring a major in this area from MIT. You do not need to do the entire course, just look into the recommended readings, videos and assignments you are interested in, and complement those with content from other universities/courses. Unless you feel uncomfortable doing so, skip the General Institute Requirements entirely, as well as any communication-intensive requirements (CI-M).
2. Find online course equivalents from each subject you are interested in for acquiring this “virtual major”; these can be found in the MIT OCW itself, Coursera, EDx or another equivalent. The course can come from any university, not just from MIT.
3. Execute all the courses, interact as much as possible with peers and complete all your defined projects. Compare your performance with official solutions (if available) and ask for peers to review them (if they are available).

The steps 2–4 are what differentiate the Learning Challenge from the MIT version. Step 2 ensures that your learning is based on actual projects relevant to you (using project-based learning and based on the constructionist view). Step 3 cuts extremely basic and general subjects, ofter needed for a first-time undergrad, but probably impractical or redundant if you already have a college-level degree; it’s up to you if you actually want to cut those out entirely, take a few classes or all of them. Finally, step 4 broadens the scope beyond the MIT curriculum and focuses on the skills you need to acquire rather than a contained and well-defined degree.

One important thing to notice about these steps is that you do not need to follow any subject from MIT as-is. The focus should be on the projects you are trying to develop, and the skills required to do them. Use the MIT course requirements as a guide, not a prison. Also, there is no rule on how to “convert” MIT subjects into Coursera courses; you should check the syllabus from both courses and see how much similar they are. In order words, it is ok to change 12 credits from MIT to a 20-hour course on Coursera, as long as you actually focus on your projects.

These steps altogether ensure that you have clearly defined projects to work on, using the MIT course structure as a basis for learning and getting into a new area. As you can see (read), they are designed very loosely around the MIT curriculum, which serves in this case as a guide for subjects to be taken and areas to learn around your major of interest.

Additional tips

One of Scott’s suggested changes also refers to slowing the pace that he used for the challenge. He took 33 MIT classes, equivalent to a 4-year bachelor’s degree, in 12 months. In this Learning Challenge, I suggest spreading your study over the course of 12–18 months, doing only the Departmental Program requirements. Comparing to his own challenge, I’m advising for those interested in a CS “virtual major” to take 18 MIT classes (or equivalent) over the course of 12–18 months. Research suggests that spacing learning out between days if ofter better for long term retention than overdoing it in a short period of time.

Focus on actually executing real projects rather than blindly taking exams and tests proposed for each subject; the goal here is to gain practical skills and applicable knowledge, rather than actually getting a major. I’m a great believer in project-based learning, so I would recommend to use it as much as possible in your own learning challenge.

Depending on the course required for the major, their references on the MIT OCW may be outdated, so feel free to change it for more recent books (as long as they are as relevant as those indicated by the subject), courses from other sources and so on.

How about you? What areas do you think you need to “major” on to be a better person and a skillful professional? Are you willing to take this challenge?