The Guyana Coursera platform which is geared at the academic upskilling of citizens was launched yesterday at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, East Bank Demerara.
President Irfaan Ali who spoke at the launch, told the gathering that Coursera has collaborated with over 325 international and accredited academic universities like Johns Hopkins, Yale, Stanford, Howard, Michigan, and IE Business School, to roll out courses in over 6,000 disciplines.
Ali took the opportunity to urge the nation’s youths to never take opportunities such as academic advancement for granted, since human development and transformation are critical for the country to excel in the field of education.
He said the Coursera platform is just a stepping stone towards first class and universal education which his administration is pushing for and this initiative will aid in the enhancement of the country’s education sector which is currently on a new trajectory.
With approximately 1,000 individuals already geared to undergo the Registered Nurse programme through Coursera, followed by another 800 registered for the Nursing Assistant Programme, President Ali said this is a typical example of how viable the academic platform is and will be to Guyanese who capitalised on the opportunities afforded to them.
He challenged the platform’s executives to utilise artificial intelligence and virtual experiences to boost the delivery of education, by expanding the range of programmes offered to include a wider cross-section of the country.
“We can use your platform to design the first specialised degree and postgraduate degree programme in biodiversity studies in our forests, attaching that programme to a leading university, and launching it as a global product. That is the challenge we must now put before ourselves,” Ali said.
The President recounted a step-by-step improvement plan for the sector, to position the country as a hub for world-class online education.
“We don’t see this as the end-all. We are now looking to position Guyana as the main hub for Latin America and the Caribbean for Coursera and for what you have to offer in this region. To do this, we have to work on building a diversified platform that would cater for all languages and all requirements of the region,” he stated.
With this robust agenda, the Head of State is optimistic that this venture will significantly impact the lives of citizens who may not necessarily have the academic qualifications but are eager to develop themselves by learning several courses which will prepare them for a competitive working environment.
Coursera will also be available through the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL).
“Persons who are home, never having the opportunity to study… now, under the GOAL programme and this programme, for the first time, are graduating by the hundreds across our country. They now have that opportunity to smile with dignity because they believe in themselves, and they have achieved by believing in themselves, and the system built a platform that allowed them to believe in themselves, and allowed them to attain their dream. That is a system that is meeting the requirements of the people,” the President remarked.
Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Coursera, Jeff Maggioncalda, said that when the digital learning platform was created in June 2017, it developed gradually and attracted over 136 million learners and 7,000 institutions, served by high-quality learning content from more than 300 of the world’s top universities and industry educators.
The academic who previously served for 18 years as the founding CEO at Financial Engines Inc, said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, he observed that thousands of persons enrolled in various courses as many of them were confined socially due to lockdowns and strict health protocols.
Maggioncalda expressed amazement at the thousands of Guyanese who registered for courses in various disciplines like Accounting, Engineering, Graphic Design, Health Science, and Business Administration.
He explained that Coursera also offer courses in linguistics and modern languages which will be great for the country’s citizens since the society is culturally diverse
The Coursera CEO who is a holder of a Master’s in Business Administration from the Stanford Graduate School of Business said that he is grateful at being allowed to commission the online portal here.
He reported that to date the digital platform is being utilized by over 160 million users worldwide.
Meanwhile, Director of GOAL Professor Jacob Opadeyi, who also spoke at the event said that the goal is to register approximately 5,000 persons on Coursera by next week. He disclosed that shortly there will be free courses available for employees both in the public and private sector.
Like President Ali, Opadeyi said that opportunities such as these should not be taken for granted by youths, and in the wake of the constant developments in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, he believes no one should be falling behind.
