Coursera is one of the most popular projects in the field of mass online education, founded by Stanford University computer science professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller. As part of Coursera, a project was launched to publish educational materials on the Internet in the form of a set of online courses.
The history of the Coursera project began in 2012, and its founders were Stanford University professors Andrew Eng and Daphne Keller. It seems that the very word “Stanford” is charged with commercial and academic success – in this case, new technologies have enlisted the support of an old-school and very elite education of the old model. This mix gave good results – Coursera collects courses from the world’s leading educational institutions on one website. To date, more than 90 universities with an impeccable reputation cooperate with the portal. It is believed that online learning has many disadvantages: little control, no homework and no time limit for their completion… But Coursera, unlike YouTube lessons and podcasts, has created its own system of control and examination. Of course, translations of courses into 120 languages, as well as their multi-format content, contributed to the scaling – there is content in audio, video, and text versions. So, the attention of users is kept in good shape. The Coursera team paid a lot of attention not only to the content (the quality corresponds to the set bar), but also to the form and presentation. Entertainment, in a word.
How do Coursera owners make money? First of all, this is a direct purchase of additional educational materials, the acquisition of university certificates, personal support for tutors on the portal (experts also talk about advertising on the site and a possible personnel search system). In general, this is not only a successful and promising, but also, probably, the most publicized project in the field of distance learning. In open sources, the figures of attracted investments of Coursera are announced – from $40 million. In March 2021, Coursera held an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, selling 15.7 million shares at a price of $33 per share. The company raised $517 million and estimated its market value as part of the placement was about $4.3 billion.
The exact business model of the project is not disclosed, and the cost of developing digital materials for one course is estimated at $15-30 thousand. It is known that the platform is able to provide up to about 50 thousand students per course – and this information inspires entrepreneurs in the field of online education to creation of own (more local) startups. After all, the market in some countries is by no means oversaturated.
Recently, CEO Jeff Magionkalda expressed support for Ukraine and announced the suspension of business in Russia. “We are devastated and outraged by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We support Ukraine, and our main concern is the safety of people in this region. Coursera believes that learning is the source of human progress, and we are committed to ensuring that students everywhere have access to the highest quality education. However, we will not support the financial or reputational gain of Russian educators or institutions on Coursera while this tragedy continues, and we will not seek to profit from doing business in the region during this humanitarian crisis. As a result, we are suspending all business in Russia.”
Moreover, the platform announced a partnership with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine to offer Coursera for Campus free of charge to all Ukrainian higher education institutions and their students. Universities and colleges in Ukraine can register to give all enrolled students access to over 5,200 courses and 2,200 step-by-step projects from Coursera’s leading universities and industry partners.
The flagship Coursera for Refugees is available free of charge to non-profit organizations around the world, including those active in support of Ukrainian refugees such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Rescue Committee. For individuals migrating to the Coursera platform, most courses are free to audit, and students demonstrating financial need can receive financial aid or waive scholarships through Coursera.