Edwin Pirson
The Netherlands

"The course is well prepared in terms of interaction with teachers and fellow students."

While working as a Civil Servant/Policy Officer, Edwin Pirson participated in the online course Railway Engineering: An Integral Approach. Read about his experience.

What was your motivation for enrolling in this course?
The main reason for following this course was that many of my current activities focus on the risks associated with the track and I wanted more background information about rail in the broadest sense so that this would help me better understand the problems with the track. And also, I know from experience, that online courses, with fellow students from all over the world, give an extra dimension to the course through their diversity.

How would you describe your online learning experience?
The course is well prepared in terms of interaction with teachers and fellow students. Discussion forums for interaction are scheduled each week. What was special and very effective was that, at certain times, we had to assess our fellow students. This was very valuable and instructive; there is not always one correct answer so we could also learn from our fellow students.

What did you think of the online learning environment?
The course is very professionally set up - at any time you can exactly see how far you have progressed, whether assignments have been completed and which material still outstanding. Any questions or problems with the system are answered within two days so you can continue quickly.

Please note that the course costs more than 4 hours a week of study, especially if you want to work through the valuable background information, which is usually provided each week. But it was ultimately very worthwhile to spend more hours on this and moreover, the course is so constructed that it is just fun to go through this.

In short, it’s a must for anyone who wants to learn more about the track and the problems around it .