Category: Top News

IBL News | New York

Coursera announced an initiative called Expert Network, which will allow media reporters to access to a set 250+ top instructors from affiliated universities.

“Academic experts bring a sense of balance and rigor that elevates the quality of news, trends, and debates,” Arunav Sinha, Head of Global Communications at Coursera, wrote in a blog post.

“These experts can speak to a range of topics, from timely political issues, technology trends, social debates, financial news, and current health issues to evergreen topics, like happiness and personal development.”

These are some of the experts classified by topics and courses:

• Education: Barb Oakley from Oakland University shares must-know tips on how to stop forgetting what you learn.
• Business: Don Tapscott, an expert on how technology impacts business, specifies how blockchain can solve real-world business problems.
• Tech: Jonathan Kelly from the University of Toronto analyzes new data that showed we’re 10+ years away from purchasing self-driving cars.
• Science: Chris Impey from the University of Arizona shares whether the recent discovery of a nearby Super-Earth means we’re closer to living in space.

This media solution for journalists might generate free PR coverage for Coursera’s classes and their 170+ universities.

IBL News | New York

Since Google announced in 2017 its official support for Kotlin for Android development – shifting from Oracle’s Java – the new programming language has been one of the fastest-growing code on GitHub.

Netflix, Lyft, Capital One, and other giants have embraced it, too.

Now, with the goal of attracting more developers, Google is increasingly investing in free courses to learn Kotlin.

“Developing Android Apps with Kotlin” and “Kotlin Bootcamp for Programmers”, both at Udacity, are good examples. Google and Udacity have recently reworked these courses.

In addition, Google has been offering through its Codelab’s space, a Kotlin Bootcamp course.

More than 2.5 million users have worked through Google codelabs just this year, Jocelyn Becker, Senior Program Manager, Google Developer Training stated in a blog post this week.

IBL News | New York

Google announced on Thursday that it was teaming up with the nonprofit trade association CompTIA to provide a dual badge of completion for entry-level roles and support jobs in IT.

Learners who complete the Google IT Support Professional Certificate and pass the CompTIA A+ certification exams will have access to this new credential from CompTIA and Google.

This dual badge, which can be posted on LinkedIn, is intended for job seekers to stand out to IT recruiters and better attract the attention of potential employers.

Google’s IT Support Professional Certificate –a six-month program available on Coursera– aligns well with the training in CompTIA’s certification exams, according to students without a university degree.

“IT support skills are highly teachable, and a four-year degree isn’t typically required to build a successful career in this field,” said Natalie Van Kleef Conley, Product Lead at Google’s program. “We knew that if we could train beginners on technical skills, we could create paths to real jobs—both at Google and at other companies across the country.”

In the United States, there are more than 215,000 open IT support roles resulting from the exponential growth of technology usage, according to CompTIA’s data.

CompTIA:
• IT Takes Two: CompTIA and Google Put High-Growth Tech Jobs Within Reach

• CompTIA and Google Team Up to Deepen Talent Pool of IT Support Professionals

IBL News | New York

Udacity for Enterprise announced on Friday that it expanded its customer roster to include Airbus, Audi, Bertelsmann, Mars Inc, Mazda, and Turkcell.

“We achieved more than 150 percent enterprise growth in worldwide bookings, driven by more than 20 new Fortune 500 enterprise customers and record customer retention rates,” Alex Varel, VP of Enterprise Sales, Udacity, said in a statement.

“This success comes on the heels of a banner year in 2018, when the business also grew by 100 percent,” he added without providing further data.

Udacity highlighted the case of a customer with 30 engineers who transitioned into artificial intelligence experts in just three months.

More than 60% of new customers enrolled their employees in Udacity’s Schools of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Nanodegree programs.

Coursera: $705 Million in Cash 

Similar to Udacity’s corporate unit, Coursera for Business and edX for Business divisions are reporting a significant increase in revenue by providing courses and programs through their self-serve platforms to upskill employees.

In the case of Coursera, its CEO Jeff Maggioncalda disclosed during an audio interview this week that his company grew more than 50% in the revenue line in 2018. He also said that after the recent rounds of funding the company has “considerable cash resources, $705 million.” As a result, Coursera’s IPO can wait.