The Coursera Podcast

We sat down with Jeff Hollan, Head of Applications and Developer Platform at Snowflake, to discuss how product design is changing and how developers are scaling up their skill sets to make the most of AI. From enhancing collaboration to unleashing new levels of imagination, Jeff’s insights will inspire you to see AI as your new creative and technical partner. In this episode, Jeff and Arunav cover: Balancing Innovation and Technical Debt Enhancing Accessibility and Creativity with AI The Role of AI in Personal Productivity Building Diverse Teams in the Age of AI An update on Snowflake's Northstar learning program on Coursera ++ Snowflake's Northstar Builder Education program on Coursera aims to reach millions of builders and help them develop skills in data and AI. With this program, you can learn at your own pace with online courses, join Snowflake for in-person training events near you, and earn badges to show off your new skills.

Steam propelled the original Industrial Revolution; electricity powered the second; automation and machines engineered the third; and intelligent computers are shaping the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Like the revolutions that preceded it, the Fourth Industrial Revolution has the potential to raise global income levels and improve the quality of life for populations around the world; but along the way, almost every industry in every country is being disrupted. Fariz Jafarov, Executive Director of the Center for Analysis and Coordination of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Azerbaijan, sits down with us to discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by this disruption, and how Azerbaijan is responding to better prepare the country’s workforce for the future.

We sat down with Dr. Jules White, Professor of Computer Science at Vanderbilt and Director of the university’s Initiative on the Future of Learning & Generative AI, to discuss the rise of GenAI and the importance of prompt engineering in utilizing large language models like ChatGPT. He emphasizes that GenAI is not just a passing trend but a fundamental skill that everyone should learn. Dr. White also shares: Best practices for incorporating GenAI into higher education and the workplace Beginner-friendly prompts for everyday use of ChatGPT Advice for business leaders on optimizing talent and tech agility +++ Dr. White created one of the first and largest online courses for prompt engineering. Together with a second free course on advanced data analysis of ChatGPT, his courses have reached more than 250,000 students worldwide. Interested in learning how to use large language models for personal, professional, and academic tasks? With Coursera Plus, you’ll have unlimited access to 7,000+ world-class courses, hands-on projects, and job-ready certificate programs from world-class universities and companies like Yale, Google, Microsoft, and Salesforce. Sign up for Coursera Plus today.

Despite the fact that most cosmetics are targeted to and bought by women, did you know that men have an outsized influence on how they are made? In the US alone, women make up less than half of cosmetic chemists. This disparity deepens when looking at STEM as a whole, where women represent only one-quarter of the overall workforce. We sat down with Dr. Rolanda Wilkerson, an in-house cosmetic scientist at OLAY and the Senior Director and Fellow of Skin Care at Proctor and Gamble, to chat about her experience as a woman of color in her field and the work she is doing to drive more women to pursue careers in STEM. Dr. Wilkerson works closely with dermatologists, clinicians, and beauty scientists to research, develop, and report on the latest and emerging skin and hair science and technologies. Some of your staple products may be a product of her work! She also illuminates the inspiration behind Introduction to Cosmetic Science and Ingredients, a brand new Specialization from OLAY and the first in a series of STEM courses from the brand that reflects their commitment to doubling the number of women in STEM and tripling the number of women of color in STEM by 2030. +++ Interested in exploring this Specialization? With Coursera Plus, you’ll have unlimited access to 7,000+ world-class courses, hands-on projects, and job-ready certificate programs from world-class universities and companies like Yale, Google, Microsoft, and Salesforce. Sign up for Coursera Plus today.

As CEO of Coursera, an online learning platform with 142 million learners and hundreds of millions of course enrollments, Jeff Maggioncalda has a unique view of what’s happening around the world in edtech, higher education, and the future of work. We sat down with him to discuss: 🔮 The implications of GenAI on online learning and education 🔑 Navigating the GenAI conundrum to drive innovation and productivity at your organization 📈 What leaders should keep in mind when developing a concrete GenAI strategy 🍎 Jeff’s debut as an educator on Coursera with Navigating Generative AI: A CEO Playbook 🧠 Using GenAI as a thought partner in your day-to-day life +++ With Coursera Plus, you’ll have unlimited access to Navigating Generative AI: A CEO Playbook and 7,000+ world-class courses, hands-on projects, and job-ready certificate programs from world-class universities and companies like Yale, Google, Microsoft, and Salesforce. Sign up for Coursera Plus today.

We sat down with Andrew Ng—Co-Founder of Coursera, Founder of DeepLearning.AI, Managing General Partner at AI Fund, Founder & CEO of Landing AI, Chairman Adjunct Professor at Stanford University, and one of the world’s most prolific and renowned AI experts—to discuss: ✅ Best practices for incorporating generative AI into your organization 📎 When is generative AII appropriate or not appropriate to use at work? 👥 How generative AI will impact workers as it continues integrating into workflows 🔮 Andrew’s outlook on the future of AI in education and work Over 8 million people have taken Andrew’s AI courses on Coursera—the most popular being the groundbreaking AI for Everyone. And now the sequel, Generative AI for Everyone, has attracted over 100,000 learners in just two months, making it Coursera's fastest-growing course of 2023. +++ With Coursera Plus, you’ll have unlimited access to 7,000+ world-class courses, hands-on projects, and job-ready certificate programs from world-class universities and companies like Yale, Google, Microsoft, and Salesforce. Sign up for Coursera Plus today.

We sat down with Alexis Abramson—a mechanical engineer, the thirteenth Dean of the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth, and co-founder of Edifice Analytics. Degrees as a credential, particularly from top institutions, continue to be a major driver of long-term economic mobility. Offering them online creates unprecedented access for learners to gain from these prestigious programs. However, fully online degrees from Ivy Leagues are relatively uncommon —but Dartmouth is changing that. In this conversation, we go behind the scenes of how Alexis and her team created Dartmouth’s very first fully online degree—a Master of Engineering in Computer Engineering—from building equity in admissions to crafting a program as engaging and valuable as a traditional on-campus experience. We also cover her outlook on how universities are adapting to prepare students for the changing tech landscape, and what excites her most about the future of engineering. From virtual assistants to virtual reality, intelligent systems are embedded in our everyday lives, and it is critical that engineers in our world understand both the technology and the human impact. You can begin your engineering journey today by checking out Dartmouth’s Master of Engineering in Computer Engineering—available now on Coursera. +++ With Coursera Plus, you’ll have unlimited access to 7,000+ world-class courses, hands-on projects, and job-ready certificate programs from world-class universities and companies like Yale, Google, Microsoft, and Salesforce. Sign up for Coursera Plus today.

We sat down with Vishal Gupta, Professor in Organizational Behavior at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, whose insightful theories on practical leadership frameworks have empowered thousands of professionals across the globe. In this conversation, Professor Gupta details how you can become a respected and influential leader by mastering self-leadership, cultivating an empathetic communication style, and effectively navigating ethical challenges—and how the Indian epic The Mahabharata, has heavily inspired his work. Whether you're a new grad or have been in the workforce for some time, he explains why it’s never too late to embark on a journey of self-discovery and leadership development to make a difference in your career and organization. We also cover his outlook on the future of higher education in India, and how schools like IIMA are taking steps to make themselves more universally accessible to a global audience. From shaping company strategy to boosting organizational agility, understanding how to be an effective leader is critical to cultivating a culture that inspires and motivates employees. You can learn how to strengthen your capacity to lead across boundaries through Professor Gupta’s course—Leadership Skills—for free on Coursera. Episode Resources: Demystifying Leadership: Unveiling the Mahabharata Code by Asha Kaul and Vishal Gupta With Coursera Plus, you’ll have unlimited access to 7,000+ world-class courses, hands-on projects, and job-ready certificate programs from world-class universities and companies like Yale, Google, Microsoft, and Salesforce. Sign up for Coursera Plus today.

We sat down with Dr. Laurie Santos, a renowned professor of psychology at Yale University and the host of the popular podcast The Happiness Lab. Her course on evidence-based strategies for happiness, The Science of Well-Being, became the most popular in the university’s history and has developed into a global phenomenon, with the online version garnering more than 4.5 million enrollments on Coursera. In this conversation, Laurie tells us what the science of psychology says about how to make wiser choices and live a life that’s more fulfilling. She also explains how being happy with your life differs from being happy in your life, and how balancing the two is key to overall happiness. We also cover how we can help our kids, and ourselves, adjust our own expectations about happiness. Episode Resources: The World Happiness Report The Happiness Lab Podcast Interested in exploring Dr. Santos’ course? With Coursera Plus, you’ll have unlimited access to 7,000+ world-class courses, hands-on projects, and job-ready certificate programs from world-class universities and companies like Yale, Google, Microsoft, and Salesforce. Sign up for Coursera Plus today.

We sat down with Dr. Barbara Oakley, whose research on the relationship between neuroscience and social behavior has been described as “revolutionary” by the Wall Street Journal.  Dr. Oakley shares practical advice on tackling daunting subjects and beating procrastination, debunks misconceptions about limits on learning, and reveals how to cultivate a lifelong learning mindset. She also illuminates the inspiration behind her online course Learning How to Learn, taken by more than 3.6 million students from nearly every country in the world. Interested in exploring Dr. Oakley’s course? With Coursera Plus, you’ll have unlimited access to 7,000+ world-class courses, hands-on projects, and job-ready certificate programs from world-class universities and companies like Yale, Google, Microsoft, and Salesforce. Sign up for Coursera Plus today!

On the first episode of The Coursera Podcast, we discuss creative thinking with Professor Peter Childs, Head of the Dyson School of Design Engineering and the Professorial Lead in Engineering Design at Imperial College London. Professor Childs shares his insights on what happens in our brains when we create, techniques and frameworks to amplify our inventive abilities, and the future of imagination in the age of AI. Check out his three-course Specialization, Creative Thinking Tools for Success and Leadership, on Coursera to learn how to tap into your creative abilities and produce tangible outcomes. If you’re interested in exploring Professor Child's courses as well as the broader Coursera catalog of over 6,000 learning programs from world-class universities and companies like Yale, Google, Microsoft, and Salesforce, we’re offering a subscription to Coursera Plus for just $1. You'll gain the freedom to explore skills in careers like cybersecurity, data analytics, and more. Ready to take control of your career? Sign up for Coursera Plus today! *Valid until September 21, 2023, 11:59 PM PT for new Coursera Plus subscribers only. Void in India. Terms for Promotional Offers apply.