Business Today – August 25, 2019

Massive open online courses,

or MOOCs, could be the most

convenient way to upskill

or reskill people and drive

professional growth.

By SONAL KHETARPAL

ILLUSTRATION BY AJAY THAKURI

TAILOR-MADE

EDUCATION SPECIAL > MOOCS

an instant hit and saw thousands of enrolments within
the first few weeks.
Kumar Sami is a part of the cohort, taking advantage
of the $3.9 billion global market, according to data from
Pune-based market research company MarketsandMar-
kets. The MOOCs market is estimated to grow at a 40 per
cent CAGR and reach $20.8 billion by 2023 as profession-
als keen to master 21st-century skills eagerly seek online
degrees. Global players such as edX, Udacity and Coursera
have partnered with top universities to bring their courses
online, but one will also find marketplaces like Udemy
(now in India), Edureka and Simplilearn where subject
matter experts create content to improve job-related
skills. The platforms have also introduced B2B verticals,
where they offer a curated set of courses to companies.

How India Fares
India is the second-largest market for MOOC providers
after the US. According to data from MOOCs aggrega-
tor Class Central, globally, 101 million students could ac-
cess 11,400 courses from over 900 universities in 2018.

But unlike the West, where

learners often take up pro-

grammes based on per-

sonal interests, Indians are

mainly pursuing online ed-

ucation to ensure career ad-

vancement. Coursera says

over 94 per cent of its 4.2

million learners in India

are in the age bracket of 18-

39 and 40 per cent of these

courses cover business and

technical topics. Under-

standably, local players

such as upGrad, Unacad-

emy and Jigsaw Academy

(acquired by the Manipal

Group in June 2019) have

joined the race to tap the ‘massive’ opportunity.

The government has also come forth as India aims to

attain a gross enrolment ratio of 30 per cent in higher

MOOCS BY

NUMBERS

Number of learners:

101

MILLION

Number of universities

conducting MOOCs:

900-PLUS

Number of courses:

11,400

Source: Class Central;

data shows estimated

global numbers in 2018

August 25I 2019 I BUSINESS TODAYI 99