GenAI course enrollments on Coursera: Let's check in to how it is going

As the GenAI revolution progresses, it is ushering in a new wave of innovation and productivity but also causes concerns about job security and challenges for businesses to adapt.

An EY report estimates that GenAI could add $1.2-1.5 trillion to India’s GDP in the next seven years, with education and upskilling as critical drivers.

However, 69% of jobs in India are at risk of some degree of automation. White-collar workers, in particular, need to demonstrate their GenAI skills to secure employment and advance their careers.

The soaring demand for GenAI courses on Coursera highlights the potential of this technology to address its own disruption, revolutionise education, and transform not only 'how' but 'what' we all learn.

India leads globally with 7,00,000 enrollments across 250+ GenAI courses and projects on Coursera, translating to someone in India enrolling in GenAI content every minute.

Beyond AI and tech skills, there is also an enduring need for human skills like communication, problem-solving, computer literacy, and management.

As AI accelerates and puts more jobs at risk, leadership will become increasingly important, as it is a uniquely human skill that AI will likely never replace.

The remarkable uptake of GenAI courses in India highlights a nationwide commitment to embracing the future of work. This trend, driven by both individual and organisational efforts, underscores India’s leadership in the AI revolution and its readiness to harness AI technology to accelerate towards the $5 trillion economy vision.

Prime Minister Modi's vision of preparing skilled professionals for the world underscores India’s potential as a global AI talent hub, driven by our large, young, English-speaking, tech-savvy population eager for affordable education.

This is reflected in the growing demand for GenAI courses by Indian learners on Coursera, also showcasing their resilience and forward-thinking spirit needed to thrive amid rapid technological shifts.

Government initiatives like the National Education Policy (NEP) and Digital India are transforming higher education by closing the industry-academia skills gap and increasing access to quality education. Indian universities are integrating GenAI content on Coursera to ensure students are job-ready, while educators use GenAI tools like Coursera’s Course Builder to create custom training efficiently.

Top-ranked institutions like IIT Guwahati offers a popular BSc (Honours) in Data Science & Artificial Intelligence on Coursera and have recently launched a new hands-on course, Programming with Generative AI, designed for software developers, tech leads, and AI enthusiasts, providing a pathway to the bachelor's degree.

Companies like L&T are also taking an early lead in building foundational digital literacy by launching Coursera’s GenAI Academy for their entire workforce. This supportive ecosystem, coupled with strong industry-academia-government collaboration, drives the remarkable uptake of GenAI content in India.

Indian learners are keen to harness the power of GenAI through expert-led courses.

The top five courses include:

- Introduction to Generative AI (Google Cloud)

- Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT (Vanderbilt University)

- Generative AI for Everyone (DeepLearning.AI)

- Generative AI with Large Language Models (DeepLearning.AI; AWS)

- Google AI Essentials (Google)

Notably, Google's AI Essentials course, launched in April, quickly became one of the most popular courses.

In India, the GenAI adoption appears generational, with Millennials leading in reskilling efforts (56%), followed by GenZ (31%) and GenXers (11%).

This trend is also reflected in the occupation levels of learners, with significant participation from managerial leadership roles (23%), interns (22%), senior individual contributors (21%), junior individual contributors (18%), directors (10%), and executive management (3%).

Gender-wise, men are embracing GenAI faster than women, accounting for 72% of learners. Regionally, Maharashtra leads in GenAI enrollments (19%), followed by Karnataka (13%), Tamil Nadu (12%), NCR (10%), and Punjab (5%).

Moreover, a third of GenAI enrollments in India come from enterprise learners, reflecting that both institutions and employed individuals recognise the need for reskilling to stay relevant in a rapidly evolving job market. This proactive approach to learning and reskilling underscores India's commitment to becoming a global hub for AI talent.

Accelerating AI Skills - Preparing the Workforce in India for Jobs of the Future by AWS and Access Partnership revealed that Indian employers are willing to pay 54% more for workers with AI skills.

Globally, similar trends are observed; an Amazon study found that workers with AI skills can have up to 47% higher salaries.

The India report also highlighted that 95% of workers are eager to develop AI skills, with higher salaries being a key motivator. This corroborates the notion that having emerging tech skills, especially AI, not only enhances productivity and operational efficiency but also provides substantial financial benefits for individuals who acquire them.

We’re continuously expanding our catalogue of high-quality content focused on GenAI skills. This year alone, we’ve launched over 100 new courses and projects, bringing the total to 250+.

We are excited to announce several new initiatives aimed at empowering individuals and institutions. These include a fresh selection of GenAI-focused content and credentials, enhancements to our current Professional Certificate portfolio with GenAI-specific updates, upgrades to Coursera Coach, and an expansion of our GenAI Academy to help businesses equip their teams with GenAI skills.