Coursera announces new content and partnerships with Indian institutions to meet the demand for job-relevant credentials

New Delhi : As India’s National Education Policy lays the foundation for a modern skill development ecosystem, Coursera, Inc. (NYSE: COUR), one of the world’s largest online learning platforms, has announced a number of partnerships with premier Indian higher education institutions and industry leaders. The addition of these new educators – IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Indore, IIIT Bangalore, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Hero Mindmine, PwC India and Tally Education – takes the total number of university partners to 14 and industry partners to five in the country. Coursera also unveiled new job-relevant online degrees and credentials from leading universities designed to help learners accelerate their careers amid the country’s booming digital economy.

The recent Campus Skills Report reveals that Indian students are interested in building foundational digital skills  to secure high-growth technology jobs like data scientist, software engineer, and machine learning engineer. These partnerships with Coursera enable the current higher education system to evolve and equip learners at scale with the skills they need to unlock the most in-demand jobs.

“The Indian education system is going through an important phase of reform and recalibration. Online learning is now seen as a critical pathway toward building a more inclusive, accessible, and affordable education model,” said Dr. Betty Vandenbosch, Chief Content Officer, Coursera. “We are honored to partner with the country’s top higher education institutions and industry educators to widen our portfolio of job-relevant credentials, which will make learning on Coursera even more rewarding for learners in India and across the globe.”

The new credentials aim to build critical business, technology, and data science skills:

• MSc in Data Science from International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore: This is the first data science degree from an Indian university on Coursera. The rigorous program combines high-quality instruction with real-world experience through applied projects. Graduates will be prepared for roles such as data scientist, data architect, and machine learning engineer. The cohort is expected to begin by the end of the year.  
• Executive Masters in Business Administration from Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee:  Offered by one of the premium institutes in India, this 2-year masters program with features of credit-based payment and flexibility in enrollment is aligned to the needs of Industry 4.0 and designed to develop capable managers skilled in both engineering and business. The program aims to prepare future leaders in high-growth industries. The cohort is expected to begin in November 2022.

• Global Management Program in Infrastructure and Global Management Program in Operations & Supply Chain from The Indian School of Business: The Global Management Program in Infrastructure will equip learners to develop strategic plans, manage uncertainty and risks, and learn to communicate, market, and negotiate effectively. The Global Management Program in Operations & Supply Chain is designed to meet the increasing demand for techno-business managers for the operations and supply chain sector. The cohorts are expected to begin in October 2022.

Other new employability-focused credentials announced today include:

• Six job-relevant Postgraduate Certificate Programs from the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati – Programs in Cloud Computing Applications; Deep Learning for Computer Vision & Extended Reality (XR); Digital Manufacturing; UX Design & HCI; Natural Language Processing; and Robotics & Mechatronics will help learners gain the skills needed to succeed in today’s most in-demand roles.  

• Post Graduate Certificate in Machine Learning for Finance and Post Graduate Certificate in Strategic Supply Chain Management with AI from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee – Covering concepts such as supervised and unsupervised learning, natural language processing, and artificial neural networks, the Machine Learning for Finance program will provide learners with an overview of ML and its application to the finance industry. The Strategic Supply Chain Management program will provide foundational knowledge about the cutting-edge advances in intelligent supply chain strategies, driven by AI and ML technologies.

“These partnerships not only unlock a powerful opportunity to address local skill shortages and increase the Gross Enrollment Ratio, but also help catalyze the internationalization of education envisioned by the NEP. Together with our partners, we’re excited to take India’s high-value credentials to our global learner base and solve for the needs of the knowledge economy,” added Raghav Gupta, Managing Director, India and APAC, Coursera.

Over 16 million learners in India trust Coursera for their skilling needs. The new industry partnerships are poised to benefit learners of all stages, including youth and learners from non-traditional backgrounds:

• Hero Mindmine is expected to launch programs to help learners understand all about Insurance and the skill of selling insurance successfully
• PwC India plans to launch programs to equip learners with knowledge in the tax domain. This knowledge can help learners secure roles and also progress effectively in their careers.
• Tally Education will help young graduates understand and prepare for their first job in business accounting with courses planned to span Indian Accounting Standards & Compliance, bookkeeping, reporting, and inventory management