Sign-ups for AI courses, micro-credentials gain traction: Coursera India MD

Coursera India and Asia Pacific MD Ashutosh Gupta says demand for AI courses remains strong, while micro-credentials are helping professionals improve hiring prospects

India continues to see strong growth in sign-ups for professional artificial intelligence (AI)-related courses, especially those offered by reputed colleges and universities, Coursera India and Asia Pacific Managing Director Ashutosh Gupta told Business Standard.

 

These sign-ups have grown significantly in the micro-credentials segment, where Coursera allows professionals to focus on and learn specific aspects of the broader technology spectrum, such as AI or coding, Gupta added.

 

In a survey conducted in June this year, Coursera found that nearly 94 per cent of employers of professionals who took micro-credential courses on the platform said these professionals could command higher salaries than their peers.

 

“The propensity to get hired increases as well. There is a nearly 15 per cent jump in the salary offered if a professional shows that they have completed a micro-credential course with us,” Gupta said in a virtual interaction from Bengaluru.

 

The combination of services and offerings such as micro-credentials and personalised coaches that stay with learners in their environment as they code or learn technical stuff will be extremely important, he said. For example, while Coursera has personalised AI coaches that tailor a course or topic based on a student or professional's learning ability and pace, Udemy has Model Context Protocol, which lets enterprises guide employees on the go without leaving their work environment.

 

“It is called Flow-of-the-work learning. So, let’s say there is an employee who is coding and makes a mistake. The AI is there with them, watching them as they code. As and when they make a mistake, the AI can prompt them to correct their course and suggest a quick lesson on how to avoid that mistake next time,” Gupta said.

 

These solutions and services, along with the combined content library of Coursera and Udemy, will make the merged entity a “powerhouse” of educational tools and services, he said.

 

“We are taking very measured steps. Both platforms (Coursera and Udemy) have very strong brands and a very strong presence in their respective domains,” Gupta said.

 

Coursera is also working with colleges and universities to develop new courses and skill packages, especially in emerging technologies such as AI, he said.

 

Earlier this year, Coursera and Udemy completed their merger, creating one of the largest online learning businesses in the world with 290 million registered learners and more than $1.5 billion in combined annual revenue under a single company.