U-M began creating online learning content over a decade ago. Since then, over six million students have enrolled for these courses, a tenth from India. Coursera, the US-based edtech platform that U-M partners with, has 4.8 million users in India. U-M’s online course “Programming for everyone” is the second-most popular in the country.
During his recent visit to India, U-M President Mark Schlissel sat down with the online magazine “Quartz India” to discuss U-M’s presence in the growing online learning space and, in particular, the university’s relationship with learners in India.
Schlissel noted that while online learning can aid in growing the numbers of college graduates in India, it is not a replacement for a robust, local system of higher education. “While I think online education can provide individual skills, there’s more to an education than a set of skills,” said Schlissel. “The problem with skills in the modern era is they go stale quickly. Having a foundation of learning how to learn is the best prep a student can have for the future.”
