News

How to live a good life? Art of Living MOOC by Frank Martela

This massive open online course on how to live a good life is lectured by Ph.D., assistant professor Frank Martela. The course is produced by the Oasis of Radical Wellbeing project and it is part of Aalto’s lifewide learning portfolio.
Frank Martela
Frank Martela

How to live a good life? How to live your own life? 

The aim of this course is to strengthen your understanding of the fundamental questions of good life and how to make reasonable life choices. The course gives tools to think about what to aim for in life, helps to identify barriers and challenges to good life, and explains what latest research tells about the choices in life that tend to lead to wellbeing, happiness, and meaningfulness. The purpose is to deepen your understanding of yourself, life, and what being a human entails, while strengthening your ability to live a life that is volitional, self-chosen, and good according to your own standards.

The course consists of 6 parts that each have several video lectures, reflective assignments, and quizzes. Ultimately the course aims to serve the participant’s own reflection about their life and own life choices. The course offers participants a moment to stop and think about their lives to be able to live a more self-selected, self-endorsed life in the future.

Language of the course is English.

Log in to the course

The course aims to give participants a moment to stop and think about their lives to be able to live a more self-selected, self-endorsed life in the future.

Frank Martela

Frank Martela, PhD and assistant professor at Aalto University, is a philosopher and researcher of psychology specialized in meaningfulness, human motivation, and how organizations and institutions can unleash human potential. His quest is to understand what to do, value, and aim for in this unfolding experience called human life. He aims to investigate the fundamentals of happiness, meaningfulness, human basic needs, and good life, to deliver insights that can help each of us to live a slightly better and more self-chosen life.

Frank has become an internationally recognized expert on the topics of meaning and happiness. He has spoken at universities on five continents, written for Harvard Business Review, Scientific American, and CNBC, and given interviews for New York Times, Fox News, New Scientist, and Discover Magazine, among others. His book A Wonderful Life – Insights on Finding a Meaningful Experience (HarperCollins 2020) has been translated into 29 languages including French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Korean, and Indonesian.

The prducer of the course, Oasis of Radical Wellbeing is a strategic project at Aalto University 2021-2024 promoting and supporting community wellbeing.

More information

Merita Petäjä

Project Manager
  • Updated:
  • Published:
Share
URL copied!

Read more news

Hands-on work in the research tunnel underneath Otaniemi
Cooperation, Studies Published:
A student orchestra performs on steps while a crowd of students in colourful overalls and white caps watches.
Campus, Studies Published:

Students arrange fundraiser to tackle youth loneliness

The fundraising is ongoing until 2 May 2026
""
Studies, University Published:
Two people in dark jackets stand by wide indoor stairs with wooden railings and modern lighting
Studies Published:

From Singapore to Finland: Students discover new perspectives on sustainability at Aalto University

In March 2026, Aalto University Summer School had the privilege of hosting a group of bright and ambitious students from Ngee Ann Polytechnic in Singapore for a two-week program on social sustainability and creativity.