Coursera Translates 4,000 Courses into Arabic and Launches New AI Features to Serve Arab Learners

Registers 38% YoY learner growth in Saudi Arabia

Expands to over 70 enterprise customers

Coursera, Inc. (NYSE: COUR), a leading online learning platform, announced several new initiatives to improve access to high-quality education in Saudi Arabia and better serve the local needs of learners and institutions in the Kingdom. These efforts include launching a large catalog of learning content in Arabic and AI-powered features to make online learning more personalized and interactive. Now, top courses like The Science of Well-Being from Yale University, AI for Everyone from DeepLearning.AI, Programming for Everybody from the University of Michigan, and What is Data Science? from IBM, which have until recently been available only in English, are going to be accessible to anyone who speaks Arabic. Coursera also expands its presence in the Kingdom to serve over 70 enterprise customers, as institutions across Saudi Arabia embrace online learning to equip their workforce and students with digital skills. With nearly 1 million learners and 1.7 million enrollments on the platform, Saudi Arabia is the 2nd largest market for Coursera in the MENA region.

“Saudi Arabia’s goal of diversifying the economy and becoming a technology leader depends on building a large and digitally proficient workforce,” said Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda. “Our mission is to create equal access to world-class learning, and today marks a big moment as we use the power of AI to bridge the language gap for millions across the country. With over 4,000 AI-translated courses now available in Arabic, learners in the Kingdom gain unprecedented access to the world’s best educators to develop skills for the digital future.”

Here are the new initiatives and features Coursera is unveiling in Saudi Arabia:

● More than 4,000 courses now available in Arabic, including some of the most popular courses in Saudi Arabia, such as Learning How to Learn from Deep Teaching Solutions, Introduction to Data Analytics from IBM, and Successful Negotiation: Essential Strategies and Skills from University of Michigan. Now learners can access course readings, lecture video subtitles, quizzes, assessments, peer review instructions, and discussion prompts — all in the local language. The translated content will be initially accessible to Coursera for Business, Campus, and Government customers and rolled out to all learners in the coming months.
● Coursera Coach (beta) for Coursera Plus subscribers: A generative AI-powered virtual learning assistant that provides personalized feedback, answers questions, and summarizes video lectures and resources. Coach will also support learners with interaction in the local language.
● Coursera ChatGPT plugin: Provides enhanced personalized discovery across the Coursera catalog, enabling users of GPT-4 to quickly get recommendations of content and credentials to help them develop skills in a given subject or career field.
● Coursera Course Builder: Based on natural language prompts from human authors, the AI-powered course building tool will auto-generate content, including course structure, descriptions, readings, assignments, and glossaries. Companies and campuses can also use this feature for private authoring, using their internal experts to produce custom courses and blend them with recommended content from participating partners on Coursera. It is currently being piloted with select customers.
● Platform innovations to bridge the digital divide and build accessible learning experiences. 57% of learners in Saudi Arabia use mobile devices to access Coursera. The platform allows learners to download courses, synchronize progress and quizzes, take notes with highlights, and calendar sync – optimized for low data consumption.
● Having significantly broadened its presence in the Kingdom, Coursera now serves more than 70 enterprise customers, including esteemed institutions such as STC, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Prince Sultan University, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), National eLearing Center (NeLC), and many others.

According to Coursera’s 2023 Learner Outcomes Report, 82% of learners in the MENA region reported career benefits and 96% reported personal benefits from learning on Coursera. With a large and expanding learner base in Saudi Arabia that can now be served with local language content, Coursera is well-positioned to equip the Kingdom with skills of the future.