In essence what characterises all of this advice is deliberate, strategic, well-informed and thought-through decision making in relation to MOOC platform partnerships. Some universities have not always been very rigorous in this respect.

In online education the lack of consideration of the social dimension will not only result in a reductive experience, it will also have the potential to stifle participation and involvement, and in that sense be counterproductive.

Online education is a robust and resilient mode of teaching and study and by necessity or deliberately will play an even more important role in UK higher education in the future.

Through this mode of teaching and study there is potential to create conditions that lead to learning. The challenge is one of all forms of teaching – successful orchestration and design to create those conditions.

As people return to campus it seems abundantly clear that the university residential model is still incredibly strong and dominant.