Coursera Marks AI Appreciation Day with New GenAI Programs for Global Learners

To mark AI Appreciation Day, global online learning platform Coursera, Inc. (NYSE: COUR) has announced the expansion of its Generative AI (GenAI) course offerings. The platform now features more than 925 AI-focused courses, Professional Certificates, and Specializations in partnership with top universities and industry leaders, supporting the global workforce in acquiring in-demand AI skills.

GenAI Skills Surge Across MENA Region

As digital transformation accelerates, skills transformation is critical, especially in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), where 46% of job skills are expected to change by 2030 a rate higher than the global average of 39%.

The total enrolments to date (all time enrolments) have surpassed 500K, with one new enrolment every two minutes in 2025. In both the UAE and Saudi Arabia, enrollments have each crossed 100,000, averaging one new sign-up every nine minutes. Since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, learners in MENA have logged nearly half a million hours learning GenAI skills roughly 53 years of learning time.

Learner Trends Highlight Growth Areas and Gaps

While interest is surging, 80% of GenAI enrollments are at the beginner level, revealing a need for pathways to intermediate and advanced learning. Millennials lead the charge at 60% of total enrollments, followed by Gen X (21%), Gen Z (18%), and Boomers (1%).

However, a clear gender gap persists, with women comprising just 25% of GenAI learners in MENA. The findings indicate a need for targeted outreach and inclusive learning strategies to bridge this disparity.

AI-Powered Learning Tools Drive Better Outcomes

Coursera is also using AI to transform how learning is delivered. One key feature is Coursera Coach, a GenAI-powered tutor that supports learners by answering questions, providing summaries, offering feedback, and guiding career decisions. Coursera reports that Coach users are 9.5% more likely to pass quizzes on their first try and complete 11.6% more course items per hour.

In MENA, 175,000 learners have used Coursera Coach, with over 240,000 messages exchanged, underlining its growing role in personalised learning.

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Breaking Language Barriers and Expanding Access

To ensure inclusive access, Coursera has used AI to translate over 5,500 courses and 65 Professional Certificates into 26 languages, including Arabic and French. This effort has driven 400,000+ enrollments in translated courses across MENA, engaging more than 120,000 learners. Notably, Saudi Arabia ranks among the top three globally for learner engagement in translated content.

“Across the Middle East and North Africa, learners are embracing GenAI education at a remarkable pace to meet the changing demands of industries and workplaces,” said Kais Zribi, Coursera’s General Manager for the Middle East and Africa. “On AI Appreciation Day, we’re reaffirming our commitment to support the region’s learners as they build the skills shaping the future. Through collaboration with industry leaders, we’re expanding access to world-class AI learning and creating personalized, inclusive AI-powered pathways.”

The new AI-focused offerings announced today on Coursera include:

Seven Professional Certificates from AWS, Microsoft, Google Cloud, IBM, and Snowflake

• • Two new certificates from AWS
    • AWS Generative AI Applications: Create AI solutions for real business problems with AWS tools, like Bedrock and Partyrock. No tech background needed.
    • AWS Generative AI for Developers: Build, deploy, and optimize GenAI apps, agents, and knowledge bases using Amazon Bedrock.
  • Two new certificates from Microsoft
    • Microsoft AI Product Manager: Gain the key skills, from market research and UX to product strategy and lifecycle management.
    • Microsoft 365 with Generative AI: Boost productivity with Copilot by generating data insights, smarter designs, and streamlined communications.
  • Google Cloud Generative AI Leader: Go beyond the basics, and learn to transform organizations with GenAI workflows and AI agents.
  • IBM RAG and Agentic AI: Advance your AI career by developing RAG, multimodal, and agentic apps with the latest tools, including LangChain and CrewAI.
  • Snowflake Generative AI: Use Snowflake and Streamlit to create and fine-tune GenAI apps that unlock real-time data insights with RAG.

New courses and Specializations from DeepLeaning.AI, IBM, Vanderbilt University, and more

• • Retrieval Augmented Generation (DeepLearning.AI)
  • Four job-specific GenAI Specializations (IBM): Generative AI for HR Professionals; Generative AI for Product Owners; Generative AI for Growth Marketing; Generative AI for Java and Spring Developers
  • AI Agents in Java with Generative AI Specialization (Vanderbilt University)
  • AI in Financial Services: Foundations through future trends Specialization (Saïd Business School, University of Oxford)
  • Generative AI Strategic Leader Specialization (Vanderbilt University)
  • Generative AI & Governmental Financial Reporting (Rutgers University)