What really makes an online degree worth your time? Is it just videos and readings, or something much deeper? To answer these questions, Studyportals reached out to an online education expert, Kabir Ganguly, Associate Director at the University of Birmingham Online.
Kabir has worked at the University for over sixteen years and now leads the team that designs and runs its online degrees. His job is all about shaping programmes that prove online study can be just as rigorous, interactive, and rewarding as learning on campus.
In this interview, Kabir shares why design and support matter so much, how students stay motivated, and what role AI will play in the future of education.
Here are the key takeaways of our conversation:
- Why an online degree is much more than just watching videos. Kabir explains how good design helps you remember and use what you learn.
- How online students stay engaged. From short activities to peer discussions, he shares how lessons are built to keep you thinking and involved.
- How community and support work online. You’ll see how forums, small-group sessions, and even meet-ups make sure you’re never learning alone.
- What role does AI play in the future of studying? Kabir talks about the opportunities and challenges it brings.
- How to spot a good online programme. He gives practical tips on what to look for before you apply.
Let’s dive in and hear from Kabir about how to find an online degree just as good or even better than an on-campus one, and how you can get the most out of it.
An online degree offers structure and depth that free videos can’t match
Studyportals: A question we often hear is: What’s the difference between a good online degree and a video you could watch for free on YouTube?
Kabir Ganguly: There’s a world of difference. Watching a video – this is true for reading as well, and often, attending a lecture – can be deceptive. You spend time and feel engaged, so you come away with a sense that you’ve learned something. A few days later, what have you retained? For most learners, very little changes. Few people can take a page of text or a YouTube video, mine it for knowledge and teach themselves. They might represent the five or ten percent of learners.
A professional online degree has clear learning outcomes: what do you want to achieve? Content is just one piece of a larger journey.
Students are often surprised by how much guidance we give and how carefully the workload is planned. They’re also impressed by the interactive parts—like role plays, animations, and activities they didn’t expect in an online course. Many say, “I didn’t realise online study could be like this.”
Kabir Ganguly, Associate Director at University of Birmingham Online
Studyportals: What is there besides content, besides text and video? How do you structure a course?
Kabir Ganguly: The key is keeping students engaged. To do this, we plan a learning journey, starting with clear blocks to move you from A to Z. We break courses into lessons. Each lesson focuses on a specific learning point, and the key element, besides readings and recordings, is activities. They help you process what you’re given and move from passive watching or reading to active engagement.
To give a concrete example, imagine an MBA course on marketing. The content might cover basic questions: what is marketing, and what are the steps in the marketing process? You could watch a video on that content. We also start with an engagement activity. We might ask you to share the last time you bought something that took research and thought. How did you decide? Was it advertising? Social media? We appeal to your personal experience. That’s fundamental in adult learning; it makes the content relevant. You leverage what you already know and think, “I’ve done this. I recognise this.” Then you learn the theory, discuss with peers, and finally go back to your example and describe the steps you went through using the theory. Each lesson has a hook, the material, an engagement activity, and reflection. It’s designed to involve you cognitively, not just tell you to watch a video.
We appeal to your personal experience. That’s fundamental in adult learning; it makes the content relevant. You leverage what you already know and think, “I’ve done this. I recognise this.” Then you learn the theory, discuss with peers, and finally go back to your example and describe the steps you went through using the theory.
Kabir Ganguly, Associate Director at University of Birmingham Online
Studyportals: What feedback do you get from students? Are they surprised by anything when they start an online degree?
Kabir Ganguly: As you first guessed, many expect an online degree to be a set of videos on a page or live sessions that mimic lectures. They’re not like that. At least our programmes aren’t like that. When they first attend, students expect less guidance, but we give them a lot of it, almost hour by hour.
In the Birmingham MBA, for instance, you’re expected to spend about twelve to fourteen hours per week. We plan every activity, reading, and video. Students are often surprised by how much guidance we give and how carefully the workload is planned. They’re also impressed by the interactive parts—like role plays, animations, and activities they didn’t expect in an online course. Many say, “I didn’t realise online study could be like this.”.
Online learning can also build a sense of community
Studyportals: Many people worry that studying online can feel isolating. How do you build collegiality and a sense of community?
Kabir Ganguly: We use forums from the start. Everyone contributes. In the past, courses often relied on large assignments that took hours, and people rarely did them. In our MBA, you might have short responses of around a hundred words that take twenty minutes. You post your response and immediately see others’ answers. You feel part of a community. Our instructions encourage you to read what others wrote: do you agree? Did someone raise a point you hadn’t thought of? This builds a sense that you’re all learning together.
Outside the course, students also meet. Recruitment teams organise sessions for offerholders, so new students meet faculty and their cohort before starting. They can swap contact details and ask questions. Because you’ll have colleagues from all over the world, sometimes people discover they’re in the same city and meet for coffee. There are optional opportunities to meet face-to-face on campus, such as consultancy challenges with business partners, MBA symposiums, and immersive modules in places like Mexico or Spain. Birmingham has campuses in Singapore and Dubai, and students can go there if they want. We try to offer meetups wherever it suits the cohort.
Studyportals: How do you manage time zones and cultural diversity in courses?
Kabir Ganguly: For courses with live sessions, we offer multiple sessions at different times to accommodate various time zones. In our classes, we use diverse images and global case studies. We urge faculty to avoid focusing only on one region. We encourage you to share your own experiences, bringing a global classroom into the course.
Top-quality online degrees weigh the same as on-campus ones
Studyportals: Some students worry that online degrees aren’t taken seriously. How do employers view them?
Kabir Ganguly: When you graduate from an online programme like the Birmingham MBA, your certificate doesn’t say “online.” It’s the same degree as an on-campus student gets. Employers don’t distinguish. The Birmingham online MBA is ranked fourteenth in the world by the Financial Times. Surveys of graduates show average salaries well into six figures. Employers across all industries hire our online graduates, from medical companies and law firms to NGOs, public sector organisations, and multinational corporations. We track where our students go, and it’s broad. Studying online doesn’t close doors.
Studyportals: Are there skills online students gain that on-campus students might not?
Kabir Ganguly: Yes. Online study is essentially a written degree. You’ll communicate a lot in writing, on forums and in assessments, so your writing and expression skills improve more than during traditional programmes. You become used to expressing complex ideas clearly and concisely to tutors and peers. There’s also mental discipline and clarity of thought. The design demands cognitive engagement. It’s rigorous. You learn to think about how you learn. As a result, you become more mentally disciplined and better at communicating effectively.
Studyportals: How do you see online education developing in the next few years, especially with AI?
Kabir Ganguly: AI is a tool. We want to teach you to use it effectively. It can overcome barriers to learning, fill gaps, and help brainstorm. We already use AI in some activities. For example, in a mental health course, we had an AI act as a patient. Students practised treatment processes and then interrogated the rationale behind the responses. AI will allow us to do engagement activities that would have been very costly before. Over the next few years, we’ll see degrees evolve to make the most of AI while still requiring authentic engagement.
In a mental health course, we had an AI act as a patient. Students practised treatment processes and then interrogated the rationale behind the responses. AI will allow us to do engagement activities that would have been very costly before.
Kabir Ganguly, Associate Director at University of Birmingham Online
You’ll have experienced peers from all over the world to learn from
Studyportals: If I’m a student looking for an online MBA and considering Birmingham or other universities, how can I judge the quality of a programme before enrolling?
Kabir Ganguly: Start by attending webinars and speaking to recruitment teams. Ask questions. Look at rankings, but also look at the curriculum. A good programme should cover a wide range of topics, not just a narrow focus. Ask about flexibility. For instance, in Birmingham’s MBA, you can choose modules that suit your interests. You can study 100% online or attend some modules on campus.
Ask about assessment types and activities. A high-quality programme won’t rely on just video lectures and essays. It will include case studies, group work, simulations, role plays, and branching scenarios. Ask for examples. If a university only mentions videos and essays, that should be a red flag.
A high-quality programme won’t rely on just video lectures and essays. It will include case studies, group work, simulations, role plays, and branching scenarios.
Kabir Ganguly, Associate Director at University of Birmingham Online
Also consider networking and entry criteria. Programmes that value your professional experience, rather than just test scores, ensure you’ll be studying with people at a similar level. In Birmingham’s case, applicants need demonstrable senior expertise. That means you’ll be learning alongside people who bring interesting perspectives and challenges.
Studyportals: What happens if a student falls behind? How do you support them?
Kabir Ganguly: We design modules so there isn’t one big assessment at the end. You get feedback earlier, and tutors can see how you’re doing. There are a lot of ungraded activities. If you’re not doing them, tutors notice and can reach out. We also have a Student Support Team that provides pastoral support. They monitor engagement and contact students who seem to be struggling.
We try to remove barriers to learning. Our students often have English as a second language and varying levels of experience. We use clear English, break material into small chunks, and have clear layouts.
We also acknowledge that some students come from different backgrounds. For interdisciplinary programmes, like bioinformatics, someone might come from biology and have no computer science. They can take a primer at the beginning to learn the basics. We don’t assume you’re an expert in everything.
Learning must be simple and intuitive
Studyportals: With so many tools and resources, how do you ensure the process isn’t too complicated?
Kabir Ganguly: Learning should be invisible. You shouldn’t have to think about navigation. When we look at new tools, we test how usable they are. If a tool has confusing internal navigation, we won’t use it. Also, materials are delivered in a structured way; you don’t get everything at once. We signpost when to read a chapter, watch a video, or carry out an activity. There’s a reading list if you want to read ahead, but the core tasks are clearly indicated. That way, you can get on with learning and not fight with the system.
Studyportals: A lot of your design focuses on keeping things personal and engaging. How do you manage group sizes and maintain a human voice?
Kabir Ganguly: Our courses are authored by faculty. They’re not distant textbooks. It’s written so you feel addressed. It’s like the tutor is sitting beside you, saying, “Look at this, think about that.” That human voice is important, especially if you’re studying somewhere far away. It keeps you motivated.
We also keep classes small. Tutors have a certain number of hours for each module, and that translates to a certain number of students. In seminars, there are groups of up to twentyfive students. If there are more students, we split them so discussion forums don’t become overwhelming. You talk to twenty or thirty people at a time, not two hundred. Each group has a dedicated online tutor. It feels like a small-group experience.
