Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why do I need to make an account?

Making an account on the Big Data U website allows you to personalize your account to create multiple educational plans and design their layout highly specific to your needs or preferences. Furthermore, Big Data U can track the learning process of the learners and use this information to make suggestions to you to optimize and improve your learning experience.

2. Will I be charged for the resources that I add to my plan?

You will not be charged to add resources to your plan(s). Many of the resources are linked to NIH's Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) initiative collaborators who offer majority of their content for free along with certain degree programs. Most other resources are from third party collaborators like Coursera, EdX, Udacity, and Videolectures.net that may require payment for the resources.

3. What is the Big Data 2 Knowledge program and how is it related to Big Data U? What is the Training Coordinating Center and how is it related to Big Data U?

Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) is an initiative funded by the NIH. The Training Coordinating Center (TCC) is a grantee of this award. Big Data U is the website for the TCC project. ERuDIte, the online resource discovery index, is designed specifically for Big Data U.

4. Will I get a certificate for completion of these resources?

The issue of certificates is entirely dependent on the institutions hosting this information. For most of the resources, certification is not provided.

5. Is it possible to save the video tutorials onto my computer for offline viewing?

Most of the content is placed on YouTube or hosted by the individual institutions so there is no option to download the videos of these websites. Some supplementary files like presentation slides and exercises can be downloaded.

6. I forgot my password. What do I do?

Prior to changing your password, please make sure that you have typed the email and password properly (which is case sensitive). If you are still unable to log in, please click the "forgot password" link on the login window to receive a password recovery email.

7. I signed up for Big Data U but have not received a confirmation email. What do I do?

After registering, please wait for a while to receive a confirmation email. Please check your junk/spam folder to see if the email has been sent in that folder. If it has, then please add that email to your contact list so that you do not miss out on the important information emails from us.

8. I am having a problem logging into Big Data U. What should I do?

Before contacting us for any issues that you might be having with your access to Big Data U, make sure you:

  • Check your internet connection
  • Check that your email and password (case sensitive) are correctly typed
  • Clear cache and cookie from your browser
  • Use the most updated and supported browser

The Big Data U website is supported by the following browsers:

  • Google Chrome
  • Safari
  • Firefox
  • Internet Explorer/Edge