India adds highest no. of new learners globally for Coursera since Jan 2020

Coursera elevates India operations as regional hub for APAC region

On the back of the Covid-19 pandemic leading to growing need for upskilling, one of the largest online learning platforms in the world Coursera Inc. has seen India add the highest number of new learners worldwide since January 2020 at 7.5 million.

With a 49 per cent growth, one of the highest for Coursera globally, India now has 12.5 million registered learners as on June 30, 2021. The learner additions has also given impetus to Coursera elevating its India operations to become the hub for the entire Asia Pacific APAC region, said Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda.

"The pandemic has dramatically changed the way we learn, teach, and work. Our strong momentum in India reflects the continued trend of individuals and institutions embracing online learning to develop skills for a digital future," said Maggioncalda. "We are delighted to partner with the country’s top higher education institutions to offer a greater selection of job-relevant content and credentials and launch new platform features that will make learning on Coursera even more accessible and personalized for Indian learners."

India is now second only to the US for Coursera which has a total 87 million registered learners globally as of June 30, 2021.

In terms of enrollments, while globally Coursera saw 94.5 million as of June 30, 2021, India posted one of the highest number of enrollments worldwide at 24.6 million. India's overall learner base comprises 62 per cent men and 38 per cent women with the share of course enrollments from women learners jumping from 26 per cent in 2019 to 35 per cent in 2020, fourth highest increase globally in India.

Moreover, India has also seen a big rise in share of STEM enrollments from women learners from 23 per cent in 2019 to 32 per cent in 2020, second highest increase globally.

Taking its India engagement further, Coursera on Wednesday announced partnership with four new higher education institutions in India, taking the total number of university partners to 10 in the country. New partners include IIT Bombay, IIT Guwahati, Indian Statistical Institute, and Ashoka University.  

Coursera also announced new scholarships from industry partners including Microsoft, which in collaboration with Women in Cloud, will provide 500 scholarships targeted at helping increase women representation in cloud computing. IBM will also provide 500 scholarships towards various IBM Professional Certificates, Specializations, and courses on Coursera.  

"With the pandemic widening the skill gaps, there is renewed urgency for large-scale reskilling efforts," said Raghav Gupta, MD - India & APAC, Coursera. "As the country embraces online learning at a faster pace, Coursera is committed to helping many more learners and institutions in India navigate change and disruption with access to world-class learning."

India also leads the world in the adoption of Guided Projects -- a hands-on learning experience that enables learners to build a job-relevant skill in less than two hours. Half of the 2.6 million global enrollments for Guided Projects since their May 2020 launch have come from India. Coursera will continue to expand this catalog with Indian learners in mind, including Guided Projects from local employers.