Anthony Tattersall, Vice President EMEA at Coursera
The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the way we learn, teach, and work. What began as a short-term response to the crisis will likely result in an enduring digital transformation of higher education. As more jobs require digital skills, students and employers are increasingly looking to universities to prepare job-ready workers.
Today, I am excited to announce that 16 new universities and higher education institutions across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa have embraced Coursera for Campus to serve their students. As these universities consider new ways to adapt, they have access to a high-quality, job-relevant content catalog of over 5,000 ready-made courses from more than 200 university and industry educators, including University of London, HSE University, Yale University, Google, and IBM on Coursera for Campus. Faculty can also author private courses and assessments.
Coursera for Campus is used by higher education institutions in three primary ways:
- Professors assign a set of courses, for-credit — similar to an independent study.
- As part of a university’s blended learning experience – offering the Coursera for Campus catalog as part of the institution’s combined campus and online teaching.
- And finally, for non-credit, multi-disciplinary learning, to improve student employability upon graduation (especially in business, tech, and data domains).
In Russia, Coursera for Campus has seen five new partnerships in the last three months, including Tomsk State University, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Saint-Petersburg Electrotechnical University “LETI”, Finance University and Northern (Arctic) Federal University.
In France leading business schools such as Grenoble Ecole de Management – one of the top business schools in the country, are integrating Coursera for Campus into their learning experience.
Other markets where Coursera for Campus is gaining momentum in Europe include Austria, with two new partnerships during this period, including the University of Salzburg; SMC Education Group, headquartered in Malta and Austria, and Sofia University in Bulgaria.
“With Coursera for Campus, students at SMC Education Group will have access to high quality content that equips them with vital emerging skills delivered by big brand names,” said Markus Müller, Director of International Relations at SMC Education Group. “Students will be able to increase their knowledge in almost any discipline and link their learnings back in new ways to their relevant fields of study.”
Meanwhile, adoption in the Middle East and Africa continues to grow. A total of 6 universities had signed up to Coursera for Campus in the region by the end of March 2021, after three new partnerships in Q1. These include leading North African universities such as Hassan 2 University of Casablanca, one of the largest public universities in Morocco.
Students and faculty are also benefiting from a range of product innovations on the platform. For instance, faculty are leveraging skills development analytics on Coursera to track student progress and close employability gaps. They are also ensuring the online learning experience meets the academic rigor of campus learning with academic integrity features like plagiarism detection and deterrence. Students have more flexibility with mobile and offline learning. As many as 72 percent of Coursera for Campus students globally have accessed Coursera through mobile in the past year to download courses, synchronize progress and quizzes, take notes with highlights, and calendar sync – all optimized for low data consumption.
With the higher education landscape changing at an unprecedented pace all over the world, access to high-quality online learning will be critical in helping universities keep up with student needs. It’s an honour to partner with leading universities in EMEA to help them navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by a new world.
Learn more about Coursera for Campus today.