E-learning platform Coursera for Refugees has reached 50,000 enrolments, with over 11,000 unique learners from 119 countries.
Coursera for Refugees offers online courses for displaced students, with the aim to help them reskill or train and prepare for a new life, find work and integrate into a foreign country. Over the past month, they have seen over 1,000 users joining and almost 9,000 learners have completed a course since the platform’s creation in 2016.
The most popular courses are those that focus on English language skills for business and employability, although a course in graphic design and one in programming are also in the top 10.
The organisation now partners with more than 20 non-profit partners worldwide, including UNCHR, The Syrian Youth Assembly, Kiron Open Higher Education and EQI Academy.
“We have significant needs for course translations to better reach refugee learners”
In January, it partnered with Google and Upwardly Global to provide professional training in IT for immigrants and refugees.
But more partnerships will be announced over the next few months, head of government partnerships Matt Klein told The PIE News.
“In the next month or two, we’ll be launching a new partnership with an organisation which works closely with the private sector in Lebanon,” he said.
“We’ll also be announcing a partnership with a large global non-profit that operates in over 100 countries, focused on refugee services, disaster relief, health, economic development, and peace building.”
Coursera for Refugees was launched in 2016 in partnership with the US State Department.
“They helped to connect us with many of our initial non-profit partners, and continue to be a critical partner by providing free access to Coursera for Refugees through their own outreach programs,” Klein explained.
“Over 3,000 learners from 9 countries have now registered through State Department networks, and the agency currently supports hundreds of learners through in-person facilitation programs.”
For those that are keen to help widen access to higher education for refugees, Klein said Coursera has set up a Global Translator Community, where individuals can volunteer their time to translate courses and companies can support translation and content creation.
“We have significant needs for course translations to better reach refugee learners around the world,” he said.
