Loughborough University and the universities of Sheffield, Glasgow and Strathclyde are the latest to partner with the Open University-owned company, which is due to start offering courses from affiliated universities, free of charge, later this year.

In addition, the British Museum has signed up to work with Futurelearn, following the lead of the British Library, which partnered with the Mooc provider in February, and the British Council. ?

¡°We are delighted that more of the UK¡¯s leading universities, along with one of its most popular cultural institutions, have agreed to work with Futurelearn,¡± said Simon Nelson, chief executive of Futurelearn, who told Times ÖйúAƬ in March that more university partners were set to be announced.

¡°We are committed to removing the barriers to education by making learning more accessible, inspiring and useful to people, no matter what stage of life they are at.

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¡°These partnerships will enable us to open up access to the best academics from world-class universities and cultural institutions and deliver new forms of social learning at large scale,¡± he added.

Frank Coton, vice-principal for learning and teaching at the University of Glasgow said partnering with Futurelearn would allow the university to ¡°reach out to a whole new group of learners¡±.

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¡°The prospect of doing this through the innovative delivery platform that Futurelearn has developed is a very exciting one that we hope will inspire and engage those who choose to study with us,¡± he added.

Paul White, his counterpart at the University of Sheffield, said: ¡°The digital world is the future. Online education provides a means for the University of Sheffield to engage with learners from around the world and in circumstances we would otherwise never be able to reach out to.¡±

Details of what courses are to be offered on the Futurelearn platform have yet to be confirmed.

chris.parr@tsleducation.com