Online courses and certificates have a few takers as of now but the numbers for the same is expected to rise real fast. To achieve so, online education firm Coursera has partnered across the globe including India’s Snapdeal and Google in a bid to offer job-oriented courses. Other partners include Instagram, Shazam and 500 Startups.
Coursera introduced “specializations” where students take a number of classes and then finish a ‘capstone’ project that lets them showcase their knowledge. These specialisation are offered by 19 university partner in fields ranging from data science, digital marketing to global affairs. These courses are charged at $595. These companies will partner with different universities for instance Snapdeal and Shazam have partnered with The Wharton School, while Google has partnered with University of Maryland.
CEO Rick Levin said, “In a job market that is increasingly filled with job descriptions that didn’t exist a decade ago or less, workers and employers alike are recognising the value of online certificates. Approximately half of Coursera’s learners come to us seeking knowledge to boost their careers, and that ratio is even higher in places like India where online learning certificates have gained early acceptance.”
Snapdeal’s CEO Kunal Bahl said on this development that he is excited about being associated with The Wharton School through Coursera to play a key part in building knowledge capital of the digital future on a global canvas.
Coursera is also planning to expand presence in Indian Market as it is one of the top-five revenue generators. Coursera’s model of offering free college courses to the masses has always presented the online company education with a sizable business challenge and with these courses it may solve its problem of how to make any money.
