Getting the most out of this course

How this all works

As it’s the first week of the course and before we get properly started this is a good time to explain how things will work and what you’ll need to do.

Each week will have a broad theme, and we’ll learn about it through a mixture of videos, articles and discussion. There will also be other optional tasks and exercises you can try to enhance your learning.

Each week builds on the last, so we strongly recommend your work through each week in order. Each week will take around 3-4 hours to complete, if you do all the tasks and exercises, and there is a quiz each week to give an indication of what you’ve learnt and what that week has covered.

Meet your guide

The course is led by Prof Victoria Wells, who works in the School for Business and Society at the University of York. She is particularly interested in pub consumers and how and why they visit pubs but she also has interested in sustainability and consumers more broadly. You can find out more about her work on her webpage on the university website.

Meet your classmates

As you embark on the course, and one of the great features of a course like this, is that you can meet your classmates and learn more about them. Other learners will also be keen to meet you. In the next activity we’ll be doing introductions where you’ll find out more about me, and why I’m here and also more about your classmates.

You can add comments below any activity or step, and you can follow your guide Victoria and other learners to quickly see their comments and contributions by clicking the ‘Follow’ button next to their name (on their profile page).

On the FutureLearn platform, engaging in discussions and commenting on course materials is an essential part of the learning experience. When contributing, it’s important that you follow the FutureLearn code of conduct and are respectful of your fellow learners.

If you have already begun to contribute, other learners may have replied to you. You can ‘like’ comments if you agree with what’s been said or if you have found something particularly interesting.

(And when you have finished reading a section, please ‘Mark as complete’, and move onto the next step).