Coursera, Inc., one of the largest online learning platforms globally, has announced a number of initiatives to accelerate growth in the Philippines. As demand for Coursera rises in the country, the company announced new enterprise and campus customers and several platform innovations to better serve Filipino learners. With over 1.3 million registered learners and 85% year-over-year growth, the Philippines is the 3rd fastest growing country on the Coursera platform. The country has emerged as a priority market for Coursera in the Asia-Pacific region.
“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 Jeff Maggioncalda, CEO, Coursera. “We are excited to serve leading campuses and companies in the country 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 made by Coursera:
- 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 Corporation, Globe Telecom, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Ayala Land, and Bayview Technologies
- A government customer, Department of Science and Technology, building on the success of the Coursera for Workforce Recovery program
- Platform innovations to bridge the digital divide and build accessible learning experiences. 61% 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 – optimized for low data consumption
- With over 60,000 enrollments supported by financial aid, the Philippines accounts for the second-largest share of financial assistance awarded by Coursera to learners in Southeast Asia
- Women in the Philippines are learning online at higher rates compared to pre-pandemic. The country ranks #1 worldwide for the highest increase in enrollments from women, growing 774% year-over-year
“The pandemic has spurred large-scale upskilling among enterprises and governments. Universities can help reduce the skills shortage by improving student employability through industry-relevant content,” said Raghav Gupta, managing director, Asia Pacific, Coursera. “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 Philippines also leads Southeast Asia in the adoption of Guided Projects — a hands-on learning experience that enables learners 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.
Coursera was launched in 2012 by two Stanford Computer Science professors, Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller, with a mission to provide universal access to world-class learning. It is now one of the largest online learning platforms in the world, with 92 million registered learners as of September 30, 2021. Coursera partners with over 200 leading university and industry partners to offer a broad catalog of content and credentials, including courses, Specializations, Professional Certificates, Guided Projects, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Institutions worldwide use Coursera to upskill and reskill their employees, citizens, and students in fields such as data science, technology, and business. Coursera became a B Corp in February 2021.