An online course series for a research institute
The Finnish Institute in the Middle East (FIME) is a research institute that promotes the study of Middle Eastern languages, cultures, religions, and societies in Finland. The collaboration between Ixir and FIME began in 2022, when FIME decided to create a free and open-access online course about Islam.
Misunderstood Religion? Understand the Basics of Islam (Väärinymmärretty uskonto? Tunne islamin perusteet) reached over a thousand users in its first year alone and has been used in high schools across Finland. It is also part of the introductory course on Islam at the University of Helsinki.
Encouraged by the popularity of the Islam course, a full series of online courses was planned. In spring 2024, the course Understanding Today’s Middle East (Ymmärrä nykypäivän Lähi-itää) was launched, introducing learners to Middle Eastern societies. In spring 2025, the series continues with The Age of Cuneiform: Explore Ancient Mesopotamia (Nuolenpäiden aika: tutustu muinaiseen Lähi-itään), focusing on the ancient cultures of the region.
Participant comments on the courses
Absolutely excellent overall. This should be a mandatory course for all Finns!
Awesome and well-executed course. Things were explained very clearly but also comprehensively. Aesthetically very functional, it motivates learning.
I have taken similar courses offered by foreign universities, and this one has been the most suitable for my taste. It's appropriately compact, easily understandable, stylish, and functional.
The course was a very pleasant and gently instructive experience.
An Online Course Against Prejudice
Fear of the “horrors” of Sharia law, the perceived incompatibility of Islam with Finnish society and lifestyle, and the idea that the religion is inherently violent and sexist. These all-too-familiar stereotypes and prejudices – at worst outright racism and Islamophobia – flooded the comments section of Ixir’s social media post when we announced the launch of the online course Misunderstood Religion? Understand the Basics of Islam. If anything, this confirmed that the course was more necessary than ever.
Commissioned by the Finnish Institute in the Middle East and developed in collaboration with the University of Helsinki, this fully self-paced online course makes academic research on Islam accessible to everyone. As university lecturer Ilkka Lindstedt states in the course’s introduction video: the best remedy for prejudice is knowledge.
Watch the course introduction video
For many Finns, Islam feels unfamiliar and frightening – or is at best known mainly through news about wars and terrorist attacks. But a closer look reveals that this is far from the whole picture of a religion practiced by nearly two billion people. The online course, which focuses on the core concepts of Islam, was built around the idea of showcasing the religion’s diversity. It explores Islamic texts, beliefs, practices, and key concepts related to Islamic life and doctrine.
The course aims not only to counter prejudice but also to introduce an academic perspective to the public conversation about Islam. It offers a glimpse into the University of Helsinki’s Islamic studies program and is also used as part of its introductory course at the Faculty of Theology.
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Image: Unsplash
For Ixir, this was a particularly meaningful project, as Ixir’s CEO and online learning designer Dr. Inka Nokso-Koivisto has a background in Islamic studies and has taught these subjects at the university level for years. On this course, she also served as the content expert together with university lecturer and docent Ilkka Lindstedt. High school religion teachers and staff from the Finnish Institute in the Middle East also provided feedback on the course in two phases.
The course is free and open to all, and available in Finnish at islamkurssi.fi.
Understanding Beyond the Headlines
War, terrorism, and chaos – these are the frames through which the Middle East is all too often known in Finland. The online course Understanding Today’s Middle East sheds light on what else the region encompasses, drawing on the latest research. The hope is that a more nuanced understanding can reduce oversimplifications and offer insight into the everyday realities of the Middle East.
Developed in collaboration between the University of Helsinki and the Finnish Institute in the Middle East, the course covers the region’s history, linguistic and cultural diversity, as well as topics such as human rights, migration, and the effects of climate change in the area.
Watch the course introduction video
Making a complex topic accessible was no easy task. The history of the Middle East over the past centuries is full of controversial turning points and is closely intertwined with sensitive themes such as colonialism, great power politics, and the “war on terror.”
Fortunately, the course content was developed by Professor Hannu Juusola and University Lecturer, Docent Riikka Tuori from the University of Helsinki – both of whom have extensive experience in communicating Middle Eastern research to the general public.
Image: Unsplash
Ixir was responsible for the course production, shaping the content into an approachable learning experience through videos, images, and reflection tasks. For the video production, Ixir collaborated with its trusted partner, Videotiiviste. The course was launched in spring 2024.
Interested in the course? It’s open to everyone and requires no prior knowledge. You can start learning right away (in Finnish only) here.
A Journey to Mesopotamia – An Online Course Uncovers Layers of Ancient History
The third part of the Finnish Institute in the Middle East’s online course series, The Age of Cuneiform: Explore Ancient Mesopotamia, was released in spring 2025 and brings academic knowledge of the ancient Middle East to the wider public. Research in this field conducted in Finland is internationally renowned, and the course features experts from the Centre of Excellence in Ancient Near Eastern Empires at the University of Helsinki.
A thematic approach was chosen for the course, delving into topics such as literature and the invention of writing, religions, and conceptions of gender. Alongside these themes, learners also develop general historical literacy skills.
Watch the course introduction video
As with the other courses by the Finnish Institute in the Middle East, the script for this course was written by an Ixir expert based on materials provided by the subject specialists. During feedback rounds and workshops, the experts were able to review and refine the script. Ixir then produced the course using Articulate tools.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Participants also get a glimpse into the realities of the era through several literary excerpts translated from the original languages specifically for this course. Many of these are presented as interactive videos.
The course was published in spring 2025 and can be found in Finnish here.
Why an Online Course?
Of course, one could write a book or produce a few podcast episodes about the basics of Islam, today’s Middle East, or ancient Mesopotamia. Those would be great ideas, too. But an online course can reach audiences who might never pick up a book on the subject. It also offers versatile opportunities for interactive learning.
In addition to the general public, the courses have found their way into high school and university classrooms. These online courses are not intended to replace traditional in-person courses, but rather to complement and enrich them. For example, the content can be easily integrated into classroom teaching by using the warm-up tasks or applied reflection questions as discussion prompts.
Going through the Islam course, including its review activities, takes approximately 3–5 hours. The courses on today’s Middle East and ancient Mesopotamia take slightly longer, around 4–6 hours. If that seems short for a full course or if teachers require more evidence of student learning for assessment, students can submit written assignments based on the course’s reflection questions.
“Yhteistyö Ixir-verkkokurssit Oy:n kanssa on aina ollut mutkatonta ja miellyttävää. Yrityksestä on vastattu kaikkiin tiedusteluihimme nopeasti. Kommunikaatio ja vastuunjako on ollut selkeää, joten työskentely on ollut tilaajan kannalta helppoa ja sujuvaa. Mikä tärkeintä, kurssit ovat erinomaisia. Ne ovat rautaisella ammattitaidolla toteutettuja, hienoja kokonaisuuksia.”
Anu Leinonen, Suomen Lähi-idän instituutin säätiö