By Leah Belsky, Chief Enterprise Officer, Coursera
The spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) has profoundly affected the way companies operate. In a matter of days, organizations around the globe have transitioned millions of employees to remote working to keep their community safe. The well-being of employees remains the utmost priority, and ensuring employees stay engaged while working remotely is a key consideration.
Novartis, a learning and development pioneer in many respects, is taking a unique approach. In addition to providing relief efforts for the pandemic, the global medicines company is setting an example for engagement and empowerment of employees and communities during this time. Understanding that friends and families may be directly or indirectly affected by COVID-19, Novartis is also enabling each employee to extend free access to Coursera to two friends or family members.
Novartis continues to redefine what it means to “go big on learning” with Coursera. Our strategic partnership began in 2019 to offer Coursera to all 108,000 employees worldwide, focusing on critical data science, digital and soft skills to drive medical innovation. Soon thereafter, Novartis began offering employees access to top master’s degrees for mastery level learning. With the new friends and family offering, we’re driving a culture of learning both for Novartis employees and their communities.
We are humbled to support global companies like Novartis during these unprecedented times, and commend Novartis’ leadership team for proactively using learning to support employees in a remote environment. As more companies lean on learning as a resource, Coursera will continue promoting dialogue and sharing best practices among our enterprise community.
The COVID-19 outbreak has introduced a heightened level of uncertainty in our lives, from our personal health and safety to the state of our livelihoods and the economy. If anything, learning can be a catalyst for hope, adaptability, and action in the face of uncertainty – a way for employees and their families to feel empowered and continue investing in their futures.
Coursera for Business provides a world-class learning platform for companies that need to upskill, reskill, and deepskill their talent. With topics ranging from digital transformation and data science to software development and leadership, over 2,300 institutions trust the Coursera for Business enterprise platform to transform their talent.