Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Let’s forget for a moment about changing the world and concentrate on how we as individuals can improve our own destiny.

There is no doubt that education is the key to progress and enlightenment. Some students might think that they are at a disadvantage because they do not have access to higher education or lack the funds and means to go abroad and attain a degree from the world’s most reputable universities.

But this is no longer a drawback. The most renowned universities of the world are knocking at our doors. We only have to grab the opportunity and take advantage of what they are offering. Whether you want to improve your resume, boost your career, or just learn more in order to expand your knowledge, there is an amazing array of websites where top-notch educational institutes are offering courses for free via the internet.

Coursera

Coursera’s aim is to offer people great online education so that anyone around the world can learn without limits. This website partners with more than 80 top global universities and organisations such as Yale, Princeton, Johns Hopkins, The World Bank and Stanford University, to offer online courses for anyone to take for free.

Coursera students can watch lectures taught by world-class professors, learn at their own pace, test their knowledge, and reinforce concepts through interactive exercises. Courses are offered in the fields of Humanities, Medicine, Biology, Social Sciences, Mathematics, Business, Computer Science and many others.

Khan Academy

In 2004, Salman Khan (no, not the actor) began giving his cousin Nadia and her brothers math lessons via telephone, YouTube and Yahoo Doodle. This is how Khan Academy was created. Armed with the motto “free world-class education for anyone anywhere”, Khan Academy is a non-profit organisation offering tutorials in mathematics, finance, history and science topics such as biology, chemistry and physics.

For each course taken students can see their stats to monitor their progress and earn badges and points for learning.

OpenCourseWare

OCW offers free digital publication of high quality college and university-level educational materials.

These materials are organised as courses, and include course planning materials, thematic content and evaluation tools. Accessible to anyone, anytime via the internet, OCW material is free and promises a world in which the desire to learn is fully met by the opportunity to do so.

TED Talks

If you have never logged on to TED, you are missing out on something special.

The website gets its name from Technology, Entertainment, Design and brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and speakers to give inspirational talks in 18 minutes or less.

These lectures may not be like formal classroom lectures given by professors but can be life-changing because they may alter the way you think and perceive the world around you. The lectures can be funny, thought-provoking, educational or just fascinating and cover the fields of technology, entertainment, business, science, global issues, etc.

Speakers delivering talks on TED cross all barriers of race, culture, gender and nationality and can give students important lessons on how to hold your audience spellbound with your knowledge, wit and words.

99U.com

Do you want to make your dreams a reality? In absence of career counseling and dedicated mentors in Pakistan, students often lack proper guidance when it comes to facing the practical world outside the classroom and here 99U.com can be of great help. Though not strictly for students, this website is highly recommended for its excellent articles and videos on career development, decision-making, office dynamics, leadership, time management, interview tips and public speaking.

Learnstreet.com

This relatively new website provides online education for computer programmers by offering beginner level courses for Ruby, Python and JavaScript. Its aim is to enhance professional skills in students needed for employment in the software industry. By accessing interactive, bite-sized lessons, video tutorials and student question-and-answer resources, users can learn and practice their programming skills with a library of Code Garage Projects.

NovoEd.com

Another website worth checking out is NovoEd where students can take courses from distinguished professors from top educational institutes. By signing up for a NovoEd course, students can collaborate with fellow students from around the world and work on real-world course projects and assignments.

The courses are free but students have to finish assignments by given deadlines to achieve the statement of accomplishment from the instructors.

Udacity.com

This website makes high-quality education affordable and accessible for all students across the globe and offers free courses in fields of Business, Computer Science, Design, Mathematics and Science.

Students signing up with Udacity.com can update their skills by learning about modern technologies and latest innovations with the most up-to-date curriculum.