The training intends to develop “essential skills” required to navigate a new global landscape during and following the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We want our teachers to be better prepared to develop their learning skills, in face-to-face as well as digital environments”

A total of 10,000 school teachers and university professors will be eligible for the Santander IE Online Specialisation in Digital Education for Instructors course, aiming to teach tools for successful online course delivery.

A further 5,500 scholarships are available for university students and young professionals from 14 countries.

Students aged 20-35 are able to develop digital and leadership skills through the Santander IE Online Scholarships in Digital Strategy, Technology and Leadership, while 500 candidates will be able to take High Impact Online Programs via the Santander IE High Impact Online Program Learning Scholarships.

Those on the High Impact course will complete a five-week course in English or Spanish covering areas such as new technologies for business, digital marketing, leadership in times of uncertainty or data science and visualisation.

All scholarship recipients will receive training in English and Spanish and will be taught by IE University faculty.

“We do not know what the post-COVID19 education and labour market environment will be like, but what is foreseeable is that digital skills will be more decisive,” said Javier López, global director of Social Impact at Santander Universities.

“With this initiative we want our teachers to be better prepared to develop their learning skills, in face-to-face as well as digital environments and for young people to take better advantage of online training resources and acquire the necessary skills to successfully face a professional future that will be increasingly digitised.”

For an “institution linked to education”, it is the IE Foundation’s duty to support instructors around the globe, the organisation’s director-general Geoffroy Gérard said.

“[Instructors] are essential for the continuation of educational activity at this critical time,” he noted.

“Young people are also affected by the health emergency and can strongly benefit from programs that allow them to accelerate their learning curve and enhance their skills in digital transformation.”