Nearly 60,000 students online students and alumni of Heriot-Watt University are to get access to professional certificates in high-demand areas alongside their degree.
Students at the university’s ‘Edinburgh Business School’ will benefit from global platform Coursera – giving them access to over 500 courses developed by world-leading companies.
Big tech giants like IBM, Google, Meta, Salesforce, and Microsoft increasingly use the platform to disseminate their qualifications to a rapidly-changing global workforce.
The free access will enable students to add significant skills and capabilities to their CVs, giving them distinct careers advantages.
The Professional Certificates cover subject areas including cybersecurity, project management, digital marketing, accountancy, real estate and data science.
Coursera, one of the world’s largest global online learning platforms, has a global learner base of over 148 million.
“This is an incredible opportunity for our students and graduates to supplement their learning with the job-relevant skills that leading employers are looking for,” said Professor Angus Laing, executive dean of Edinburgh Business School and the School of Social Sciences at Heriot-Watt University.
“This new partnership with Coursera builds on our mission to deliver accessible, practice-oriented education that transforms lives and the world around us. It is just one of the ways we continue to deliver real value for our global community of students not just while they study with us, but throughout their lives and careers.”
Edinburgh Business School is one of the world’s largest providers of postgraduate business education, with a diverse, global community of over 50,000 alumni across 158 countries.
The school offers a portfolio of flexible, career-aligned online master’s degrees in subjects including business and management, finance, strategy, business psychology, supply chain management, and business analytics. The Professional Certificates – also known as micro-credentials – are short courses designed to nurture employability by enhancing learners’ workplace skills.
“Through Coursera’s Career Academy, our students and alumni will be able to augment their learning with flexible industry credentials directly applicable to the workplace and aligned with their career goals and interests”, said Russell Brooks, Chief Executive Officer of Heriot-Watt Online. “The world of work is changing and this partnership with Coursera is just one of the ways we continue to innovate to ensure our programmes remain industry aligned and future fit.”
Micro-credentials are short courses, typically of between four to 12 weeks, which help students develop skills and knowledge aligned to specific roles and industries. Students can use them to earn certificates, create a portfolio of work, prove a level of mastery in their chosen skill, boost their CV and enhance their value to employers.
Examples of Professional Certificates that a student can earn include Google IT Support, IBM Cybersecurity Analyst, Meta Digital Marketer, Salesforce Sales Operations and Goodwill Career Coach. Other employers offering Professional Certificates through Coursera’s Career Academy include Microsoft, Intuit, Unilever, SAP, AWS and Tableau.