Coursera forays into healthcare education

Aiming to address the acute shortage of skilled workers in the health industry, US-based online education company Coursera has partnered with 15 top ranked universities to launch 100 new health courses.

The 100 new courses, 30 new specialisations, and two public health-focused master's degrees -- from top ranked universities including Columbia University, Emory University, Imperial College London, Johns Hopkins University -- will provide learners with the skills they need to enter high demand jobs, particularly related to health informatics, healthcare management, and public health, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

"I am deeply passionate about driving innovation in healthcare," said Daphne Koller, Co-Founder of Coursera.

"The sector, which is under enormous strain to support the needs of a growing and aging population, presents a huge opportunity for meaningful technological transformation that stands to not only improve health outcomes for people around the world but also reduce the increasingly unaffordable costs of healthcare, both to individuals and to society," Koller added.

The new specialisations will roll out through 2019 and will be available for a subscription range of $39 to $79 per month.

The two health-focused master's degrees from Michigan and Imperial are accepting applications in January, the statement said.

--IANS

rt/mag/bg