The CEO of Coursera, Jeff Maggioncalda, spoke to Moneycontrol on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos about the challenges of a post-pandemic world and how ChatGPT is “extraordinary” but “dangerous”. He also spoke about Indian students as the online open course provider expands in the country.
Speaking about the challenges of balancing an on-campus life and online courses, Maggioncalda said that the pre-pandemic world was place based. “So if you had to learn you had to go to campus, if you wanted to work you had to go to an office. Then the campuses shut down, the offices shut down. What we are seeing now is a hybrid world,” he said.
On Coursera’s India plans, he said that the company is working with universities across India to integrate career electives and industry certificates into on-campus learning programmes.
“The online courses can be from universities and they can also be from industries. So we call these “career electives” with traditional degree programmes,” he added.
Also read: Coursera to set up global operational centre in India, expand workforce and tie-ups
He continued: “One of the great things about hybrid is you can learn from anywhere, anytime and with anyone.”
He also addressed an important question on how does one take a course in Coursera. Saying that if the course will add some value to one’s career, they are more keen on completing it but for free courses – like one on history – that one takes up as a hobby is more fun and entertaining and so many tend to leave midway.
He also spoke about ChatGPT and said Coursera has plans to integrate the AI-based software to courses. He also said that the software, which has taken the world by storm and he regularly uses, keeps him awake at night.
“It definitely keeps me awake - the power of this technology. I have been awake for 45 days – I use ChatGPT. It can create new things - it's extraordinary. It’s early, it’s dangerous and it can disrupt things,” he said.
He added that although he cannot divulge too much on ChatGPT plans, he definitely wants to integrate it with Coursera.
Maggioncalda also said that he has completed around 15 courses on Coursera and that he is taking the Google Data Analytics course - a professional certificate programme - and a course on the history of the universe from the University of Amsterdam at the moment.
Coursera has 300 employees across 25 cities in India.
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