Studying abroad is a passion for some but for other others it is a far-fetched dream because of the expense involved. But now his dream is becoming a reality. Abhishek Swaminathan explains how.
When Abhishek had some time in hand, he spent most of it searching for courses he could study. “It was then I came across this video about the Khan Academy and read about Bill Gates appreciating it,” he said. Khan Academy is an organisation that provides free education for people no matter where they are.
Intrigued by this, Abhishek began to research on this to find out about Coursera. “I saw a blog post, talking about other websites and institutions providing free online education and on top of the list was Coursera,” he said.
Coursera is a not-for-profit organisation that has partnerships with top universities across the world to provide free online courses to anyone who wants to take them up.
Coursera has various courses categorised under various universities. “Detailed explanation about each course, the objective of it, syllabus, timing (date of commencement and duration) and textbooks, was provided. So after going through that, I chose Operations Management from Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania,” he said.
Abhishek also said that in a few courses, you could receive a letter from the professor saying he taught you the course, if you receive more than 90 per cent in your tests. Tests are conducted each week on the module completed during the week and the final exam after the course is completed. Students then receive a letter from Coursera stating they have completed the course.
According to Ram Kumar, an educational counsellor, Khan Academy and Coursera are good places to look at for those who are interested in finding good jobs. “In this competitive world, an additional qualification is always useful. It is an excellent value addition,” he said.
Coursera is not the only organisation to offer such courses. iTunes University on your iOS devices is similar, but with more universities coming under it. They have free videos on various topics from finance to journalism. It is useful for students who are not serious about taking examinations.