Linux Foundation and RISC-V International have announced two new free online training courses to help individuals get started with the RISC-V ISA.

The courses are available on edX.org, the online learning platform founded by Harvard and MIT.

The first course, Introduction to RISC-V (LFD110x), guides participants through the various aspects of understanding the RISC-V ecosystem, RISC-V International, the RISC-V specifications, how to curate and develop RISC-V specifications, and the technical aspects of working with RISC-V both as a developer and end-user.

The course provides the foundational knowledge needed to effectively engage in the RISC-V community, contribute to the ISA specifications, and develop a wide range of RISC-V software and hardware projects.

Introduction to RISC-V was developed by Jeffrey “Jefro” Osier-Mixon, program manager for RISC-V International, and Stephano Cetola, technical program manager for RISC-V International.

The second course, Building a RISC-V CPU Core (LFD111x), focuses on digital logic design and basic central processing unit (CPU) microarchitecture. Using the Makerchip online integrated development environment (IDE), participants will implement technologies ranging from logic gates to a simple and complete RISC-V CPU core.

The class will allow participants to familiarize themselves with a variety of emerging technologies supporting an open source hardware ecosystem, including RISC-V, transaction-level verilog, and the online Makerchip IDE. Building a RISC-V CPU Core was developed by Steve Hoover, founder of Redwood EDA.

Enrollment is now open for Introduction to RISC-V and Building a RISC-V CPU Core.