Purpose The engineering courses offered in Somali universities attract many students, ranging between 300 and 500 every semester, making the management and delivery of the course challenging. The increasing popularity of massive open online courses (MOOCs) has led to rapid growth in enrollment, posing difficulties in effectively managing and delivering content to large volumes of learners. To this end, this study aimed to explore the influence of MOOC implementation factors on learners’ continuance intention and satisfaction to provide insights that can enhance the learning experience and ensure long-term engagement.

Design/methodology/approach The study utilized a survey approach based on an extensive literature review to collect data on the challenges faced by Somali universities in managing and delivering engineering courses. The survey included a series of questions, and 148 responses were collected from students enrolled in different programs. The collected data were analyzed using partial least squares-structural equation modeling and deep neural network approaches.

Findings The result demonstrated that MOOC implementation factors, including course design quality, instructor reputation, self-paced flexibility, information relevance, platform usability and student support services, significantly affect students’ continuance intention and satisfaction. Therefore, the study recommends universities should enhance MOOC implementation factors to improve the quality of teaching and increase students’ continuance intention to study in a MOOC environment.

Originality/value The study provides empirical evidence on how MOOC implementation factors affect the level of satisfaction and continuance intention of engineering students. It suggests that the findings could be useful for university management and lecturers to increase teaching and learning quality in the course and develop new strategies and approaches that suit modern-day learners. The study also aims to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of class delivery and improve student engagement in the learning process.