Online learning platform Coursera accelerated the growth in online learning adoption in the Philippines by announcing platform innovations and new partnerships designed to address the country’s skills and digital divide.
With 1.3-million registered learners and 85% year-on-year growth as of September 30, 2021, the Philippines became the third fastest-growing country on the Coursera platform globally and emerged as the preferred market in Asia-Pacific. Of the total registered learners, 61% use mobile devices to access the online learning platform. In addition, the demand for online learning also accelerated with Philippines reporting the highest number of enrollments on the Coursera platform in Southeast Asia at 3.5-million for the period January 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021.
“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,chief executive officer at 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.”
To entice more Filipino individuals and institutions to embrace online learning, Coursera announced new enterprise and campus customers and several platform innovations which include the following:
Innovations on Coursera platform designed to bridge digital divide and build accessible learning experiences were taken. The platform, which reduce digital divide for students with limited connectivity, now allows learners to download courses, synchronize progress and quizzes, take notes with highlights, and calendar sync – all optimized for low data consumption.
Addressing the learning trends the pandemic has brought about to make learners and institutions aware of the skills needed to continually reskill and upskill, Coursera has partnered with 60 new educational institutions to improve student employability and provide inclusive and accessible learning. The new Coursera for Campus customers include Lyceum of the Philippines University, Centro Escolar University, National Teachers College, University of the Philippines, and De La Salle Lipa, among others. Aimed at accelerating talent outcome and skills-learning programs, Coursera also partnered with 10 companies including Ayala Corporation, Globe Telecom, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Ayala Land, and Bayview Technologies. On the government sector, the lone partner of Coursera is the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) which took part in the Workforce Recovery program. The Coursera for Government is aimed at closing widening digital skills gap and addressing worsened social inequalities.
Coursera also reported that the Philippines has 60,000 enrollments that have been supported with financial aid, accounting for the second largest share of financial aid awarded by the online learning platform to learners in Southeast Asia.
The number of Filipino women who are learning online is increasing at a faster rate compared to pre-pandemic. The country ranks No. 1 worldwide for the highest increase in women enrollment, growing 774% year-over-year.
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.
“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 at 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.”
