ONE of the largest online learning platforms in the world, Coursera Inc. (NYSE: COUR), recently announced a number of initiatives geared to accelerate local growth.
As demand rises in the Philippines, the company announced new enterprise and campus customers, as well as several platform innovations, to better serve Filipino learners. With more than 1.3 million registered learners and 85-percent year-on-year growth, the country is the third-fastest growing on the platform, and has emerged as a priority market for Coursera in Asia Pacific.
“The pandemic has dramatically changed the way we learn, teach, and work. Our strong momentum in the Philippines reflects the continued trend of individuals and institutions embracing online learning to develop high-demand digital skills,” said CEO Jeff Maggioncalda of Coursera. “We are excited to serve leading [campuses and firms nationwide], with a growing selection of job-relevant content and credentials delivered on a mobile-friendly platform to address the country’s skills and digital divide.”
Among the announcements Coursera made are the following:
60 new Coursera for Campus customers, including Lyceum of the Philippines University, Centro Escolar University, National Teachers College, University of the Philippines, and De La Salle-Lipa;
10 new Coursera for Business customers, including Ayala Corp., Globe Telecom, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Ayala Land, and Bayview Technologies;
A government customer, the Department of Science and Technology, builds on the success of the Coursera for Workforce Recovery program;
Platform innovations to bridge the digital divide and build accessible learning experiences, as 61 percent of learners in the Philippines use mobile devices to access Coursera. The platform allows learners to download courses, synchronize progress and quizzes, take notes with highlights, and calendar-sync, which is optimized for low-data consumption;
With over 60,000 enrollments supported by financial aid, the Philippines accounts for the second-largest share of financial aid awarded by Coursera to learners in Southeast Asia;
Women in the country are learning online at higher rates compared to pre-pandemic. The country leads in enrollments from women, growing 774 percent year-on-year—the highest increase worldwide.
“The pandemic has spurred large-scale upskilling among enterprises and governments, [while universities] can help reduce the skills shortage by improving student employability through industry-relevant content,” said Coursera’s Asia Pacific Managing Director Raghav Gupta. “As the country embraces online learning at a faster pace, Coursera is committed to helping many more learners and institutions in the Philippines prepare for the digital future.”
The country also leads Southeast Asia in the adoption of Guided Projects: a hands-on learning experience that enables subscribers to build a job-relevant skill in less than two hours. Filipino learners accounted for more than half of the 375,000 enrollments in Guided Projects in the region since their launch in May 2020.