At its annual conference, Coursera Day, which co-hosted with IIT Bombay, the ed-tech platform Coursera announced a number of new partnerships, degree and certificate programmes from prestigious Indian institutions, platform innovations powered by ChatGPT, and expanded immersive learning experiences. The business also introduced Coursera Hiring Solutions, which aims to link students in India with entry-level positions in the digital industry globally.
“India is one of our fastest-growing markets and is critical to our global strategy. We support and empower learners with several new content and platform innovations to accelerate the next phase of their education and career,” Shravan Goli, chief operating officer, Coursera, said.
Four new partnerships, one degree programme with a career focus, and two university certificates have all been announced by the company. To prepare students for in-demand digital jobs, new partnerships have been formed with the S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR), the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, and industry leaders like Zoho and Fractal Analysis.
A two-year Post Graduate Diploma in Management offered by SPJIMR, the PGDM (Online) offers an integrated approach to functional management and related problem-solving techniques, as well as a choice of three microspecialisations in the fields of marketing, supply chain, and finance.
Expanded partnership with IIM Ahmedabad (IIMA) to offer two new certificate programmes:
Decision-making Using Game Theory: The programme covers key behavioral economics and strategy concepts like Nash Equilibrium, Prisoner’s Dilemma, and Network Effects. It provides practical, interactive learning experiences through real-world case studies, live games, and experiments, enhancing students’ strategic thinking and decision-making skills. The course is designed for working professionals in strategy and general management, entrepreneurs, and graduate students.
Elephants and Cheetahs – Operations strategy: The course is meant for general management professionals and early to mid stage functional managers. Students will learn interlinkages between various functions such as sales, marketing, HR, and operations to develop integrated business strategies. The 100% case study-based program encourages live discussions and peer learning.
To make learning and teaching more interactive, effective, and personalised, Coursera is introducing ChatGPT-powered tools and VR features:
Coursera Coach: A virtual coach, powered by generative AI, to answer learner questions, share personalized feedback, and provide quick video lecture summaries and resources. Rollout begins in the coming months.
AI-Assisted Coursera Building: Based on prompts from human authors, the AI-powered course building tool will auto-generate content, including course structure, descriptions, readings, assignments, and glossaries already available on Coursera. Pilot will be available to select educator partners later this year.
Immersive learning: Expanded VR course experiences for learners on the platform. These include Courses from Duke, Peking University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Washington covering a range of skills such as public speaking, leadership, human physiology, mobility, language learning, and training for healthcare practitioners.
Finally, the company is also launching a skills-based recruitment service to unlock career opportunities for Coursera learners:
Coursera Hiring Solutions (Beta) matches industry-trained, job-ready talent for companies filling entry-level digital roles. Job seekers can build skills and use their Skills Profile to showcase their readiness to employers with credentials, assessments, and projects. Recruiters can use the Talent Dashboard to view pre-qualified entry-level talent and verify skill proficiency at scale with job-aligned assessments. Leading Indian employers, including Axis Bank, Kantar and Appario, are piloting the offering and uncovering talent from universities such as Graphic Era Deemed to be University, K L Deemed To Be University, and Chandigarh University. The solution is available in India, with plans to expand to the US soon.