The Ministry of Education has announced it will take a leaf out of U.S. online education service Udacity’s book by teaming up with various industry-leading companies to issue certification for online job training courses next year. (Image: Yonhap)
SEJONG, Nov. 7 (Korea Bizwire) – The Ministry of Education has announced it will take a leaf out of U.S. online education service Udacity’s book by teaming up with various industry-leading companies to issue certification for online job training courses next year.
Udacity, which proclaims its purpose is to “democratize education”, was born when co-founders Sebastian Thrun and Peter Norvig at Stanford University uploaded their lecture “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence” online with free access, only to be stunned by the 160,000 interested students hailing from all over the world.
Since then, the company has added to its catalog of MOOCs (massive open online courses) and established an “online university” framework. Udacity offers 18 “nanodegree” courses, project-based MOOCS that are designed in collaboration with an assortment of major companies, among them Google, AT&T and Samsung. Successful completion of the subject material will result in the conferral of a nanodegree, which the student can provide as proof to employers that his or her skills and knowledge have been verified.
The South Korean equivalent of Udacity, K-MOOC, will prioritize skills training for next-generation industries such as VR (virtual reality) and electric cars. To do so, the Ministry of Education intends to establish an advisory board staffed by industry experts, corporate insiders and consultants, and will draw up a list of companies at the forefront of their respective fields for MOUs.
The South Korean equivalent of Udacity, K-MOOC, will prioritize skills training for next-generation industries such as VR (virtual reality) and electric cars. (Image: Yonhap)
Once the companies sign on the dotted line, they will identify and isolate the core skills expected from an entry-level employee, and then design a six-month course plan centered on these skills.
The list is expected to be dominated by companies in renewable energy and AR (augmented reality), including the aforementioned virtual reality and electric car businesses.
Like Udacity’s nanodegree system, students will then have to pass their chosen course before they receive their certification.
The tuition rates for the K-MOOC courses are fixed, but are expected to be more modest than rates of four-year universities, not to mention far shorter in duration.
The Ministry of Education is optimistic about the upcoming initiative, seeing the arrangement as a win-win for both jobseekers looking to get their foot in the door, and employers scouring the market for suitable candidates.
The program is slated to begin in earnest by July 2018.
S.B.W. (sbw266@koreabizwire.com)
