Coursera is ready with Qatar Foundation universities to integrate content online

Doha, The Gulf Observer: Coursera, a US-based massive open online course provider, is ‘in conversation’ with Qatar Foundation (QF) to integrate the platform into developing students’ skills and link them to good entry level jobs.

In an interview with The Peninsula, Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda said they are in talks specifically with the eight universities under QF to “bring universities and industry together virtually — that’s what we’re discussing, but we haven’t made any announcement yet about any relationship.”“The vision is to connect the students to the jobs, that is what’s going to be exciting about integrating the Coursera platform into universities.

It is not only developing skills but linking students to good entry level jobs for employers in the area.”The CEO also lauded Qatar’s investment in education. “Qatar Foundation has invested a tremendous amount in bringing young children’s education and some of the most innovative higher education to this region.”He noted that the next chapter of higher education is online education and a closer integration with the industry.

Currently, Coursera has at least ten business customers in the country that are using the platform to upskill the expertise of their employees including Qatar Investment Group, Qatar Development Bank, Al Jazeera Media, and Ooredoo.

The number of Qatari learners on Coursera to date is 100,000 and the average age is 35 years, which is older than the global average. Maggioncalda attributed this data as there are more older professionals in the country.

Meanwhile, the top three courses in which Qataris are enrolling are: Foundations of Data from Google; followed by English for Career Development from University of Pennsylvania; and Science of Wellbeing from Yale University.“They are all pretty much business-oriented courses, I think the business people in Qatar are using Coursera the most,” Maggioncalda said.

The growth rate of Qatari learners is 28 percent year-on-year, higher than the global average.He stressed that hybrid learning is also important for students. “That’s why we’re talking to the Qatar Foundation. Many universities today are integrating online learning into the in-campus experience — so you get both; students in-campus can also do projects online even as part of their residential experience. So I think the blend, the hybrid type of education will be very valuable for many students.”On integrating Qatar universities in the Coursera platform, Maggioncalda said there is no announcement yet about the plan but they are looking forward to partnering with local educational institutions. “Right now we’re doing the consumer one, the 100,000 Qataris directly enrolled in our site.

We’re working with 10 businesses, and I think the next step is working with the universities. This is something that we hope to be able to announce sometime soon.”The Coursera CEO said the pandemic had ushered in a new era where online learning can be mixed with on-campus learning. The Coursera CEO said: “There are new opportunities for people to learn that they never had before, and also many of the jobs in the highest demands are the jobs you can do remotely.”

“I know as well that in Qatar, many of the most educated students go abroad to work because there are so many job opportunities outside Qatar, but the kinds of jobs that are now available — digital jobs can often be done remotely, so I think there is a world not only can we bring the best international learning programmes from universities and industry to students in Qatar, we can also bring jobs from abroad so Qataris can stay here and still have an access to the world of job opportunities because of the amount of hybrid and remote work that is happening.”