Sonal Nayak

I recently got selected and joined the PhD program at IIMB. Late last year I decided to pursue my PhD. While filling out the application and writing my SOP, I thought of taking up a course on introduction to research methods. In December 2020, I enrolled and completed my first ever course on Coursera. I enjoyed the course so much I even saved a copy of the e-tivity completed as part of a peer-reviewed assignment! In the next six months, I completed nine other courses (and have enrolled myself into a few more now). Moreover, when I was working as a Visiting Faculty in Manipal, I used to set the courses as an assignment, and would also recommend students to choose their own courses. There's an endless list of topics, and each MOOC is designed in its own versatile way, with varying levels of difficulty, pace, language, and assessment type to pick from. Even now, whether I need to watch quick tutorial or need to go through a module in depth, my choice is Coursera.

Urvashi Pathak

Coursera Manipal Global, offered us Coursera courses during the pandemic in 2020, I took the opportunity to enrol in various courses to upskill and improve my knowledge base. This opportunity really helped me as I could receive certification for the completed courses and use it in my current job. I am currently working for an IoT and Automation company, the courses I took from Coursera were related to my job scope and provided me with a very detailed understanding of the IoT domain which further enabled me to apply this knowledge in my workplace, I am very happy with the variety of courses that were offered and would like to thank Manipal Global for this opportunity.

Dr. Dhanshree R Gunjawate

Coursera has been very useful for learning new skills and exploring topics from clinical as well as day-to-day life relevance. Especially, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Coursera was an amazing companion for learning. I like exploring courses on Coursera as it offers a very wide range of courses across a plethora of topics. Courses on Coursera are made interesting by striking a beautiful blend of reading materials, videos and quizzes. This has helped me to plan my classes which now have a blend of active teaching, learning and self-assessments. The faculty development courses on Coursera helped me to grow as a teacher, improve student engagement, make classes more interesting and useful. As a faculty, I have encouraged my students to pursue Coursera courses on clinically relevant topics as well as general topics for professional development such as Email writing. I have enjoyed learning using Coursera on research-related topics as well as topics for overall wellbeing. Through the courses taken on Coursera, I have improved as a faculty as well as a researcher.

Thank you, Coursera!

Ramaprasad Poojary

I feel that coursera subscription is one of the best initiatives by Manipal Global. As a faculty of SOEIT MAHE Dubai it helped me in updating my technical skills in Machine learning field. It also helped me guiding students during their project work and other courses. I have subscribed for consecutive three years and very recently I completed specialization on “ML using Tensorflow on Google cloud” (5 courses). All the 5 courses under this specialization were well designed.

As my specialization is ML and AI, I find many good courses on coursera. Thanks for this initiative.

Vineeth Patil

I have secured admission to the Ph.D. program at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. As a part of my coursework, I had enrolled in one of the courses at IIT which were on similar lines with a couple of courses on Coursera. The courses titled “Averaged-switch modeling and simulation” and “Techniques for design-oriented analysis” from the University of Colorado-Boulder helped me in understanding the basics. The simulation exercises gave a better insight into the understanding of the concepts. The assignments required critical thinking and thus challenged you in checking your understanding of the concepts. The Coursera courses not only smoothened my learning exercise at IIT but also helped me in scoring an 8 on 10 in the respective course.

Looking forward to enrolling in various other interesting courses to enhance my knowledge.

Amalda Baiju

Am really glad to tell that Coursera helps to build up my career. This platform helps me to gain expertise in latest skills, helps to learn job ready career skills, earn a degree and also in terms of on-demand training and development programs. Its really great that Online Degree programs on Coursera are accredited by the University offering the course. They provide sufficient time to complete as well as we can exceed the time limit based on our needs. When I completed the course they provide me grades based on my performance and the great thing is like we get the official degree certificate. This platform really helps me to build a career within fingertips. Thank you Coursera

Ayush Sinha

I started taking the Coursera course offerings from my 1st semester at MIT, Manipal. I was pursuing bachelor’s in Information Technology. Completing courses like Algorithms and data structures from UC San Diego gave me a good grasp about the core concepts of my bachelor’s degree, early on. Auditing some standalone topics rather than completing a course was a privilege which gave me flexibility and a rich resource to refer.

We as IT students used to discuss what we had learnt from the different courses we had completed on Coursera and would share recommendations on what to take next! Machine Learning by Andrew Ng was seemingly the most popular audited course by all who were interested in ML.

Course Certifications helped us show our initiative to learn while applying for internships or research positions. I applied the skills I learnt on this platform in the various projects we built as part of our curriculum. Moreover, I used them to bag the first prize at the #showyourskill competition 2019 edition, technology track.

Personally, completing course specialisations like mathematics for machine learning helped me add credibility to my statement of purpose while applying for graduate engineering programs in the US. The foundational concepts of data science I learnt here aided me in doing meaningful work in the field and get admitted to the MS in Data Science program at Columbia University.

Recently I have been taking advantage of the deep learning specialisation available to us to hone my skills before I begin my graduate program!

These free courses are reliable quality material for the students of Manipal to give them the edge. The content of these courses has influenced my thinking throughout my bachelors. The breadth of courses offered helped us in unexpected ways. For instance, I took the course, “learning how to learn” to improve my learning habits and implement the pomodoro technique.

The Subscription was a quintessential component of my life as an undergraduate student at Manipal and has aided my academic and industrial outcomes. I would encourage the utilisation of this stellar resource by everyone to whom it’s accessible.

George Paulson

I was granted access to Coursera through the sponsorship of Manipal Global in November 2020, just after I joined MIT Manipal. It has been the most worthwhile endeavor that I have embarked on in the past few years. In this world where change is the only constant, according to Satya Nadella, such initiatives are imperative to stay competitive in the dynamic world we live in today. We have been living through the darkest days of the 21st century when learning centers have been shut down. Coursera has helped me to diversify my knowledge and expertise. Let me share some of my experiences.

The first two courses that I took on Coursera were related to the Holocaust. I wanted to learn more about the Holocaust and the motive behind it. I learned a lot about the Holocaust from the two courses. I used the knowledge gained for a speech (a mandatory assignment for our communication skills class). The professor was impressed with the in-depth details included in my speech.

I am currently working on a data science professional certificate offered by IBM, which has been instrumental in building a solid foundation in Data Science and its associated fields. The knowledge and skills I gained gave me an edge in the summer analytics online internship (IIT Guwahati). I have not completed the professional certificate, but I have learned to use many tools for data analysis and data visualization.

I have also completed a few courses related to the subjects in our curriculum to compare how it is delivered here and in other universities. It has helped me gain an in-depth understanding of the topics and the other advanced topics related to the subjects.

The guided projects that I have completed helped deploy the skills I learned from the courses to real-world models. Coursera’s extensive guided project catalog allowed me to practice the various algorithms that I learned in machine learning and data science.

By signing up for various Coursera courses, I could connect with the online communities of some of the finest universities and corporates in the world. I have attended various webinars and workshops conducted by Stanford University, University of Michigan, Google, etc.

While other universities realized the importance of such MOOC platforms only after the start of the pandemic, Manipal was way ahead of others in complying with the contemporary paradigm. Online learning platforms such as Coursera adapt to the changes and advancements in the fields of learning and innovation much quicker than the conventional methods. This adaptability is crucial in this dynamic world. It is easier to reskill people through such platforms and to keep people updated with the current trends. I want to thank Coursera and Manipal Global for providing me such an opportunity.

Malaika Dhar James

As someone who is invigorated by learning, the opportunity to explore subjects beyond my Master's specialization, via the Coursera subscription provided by Manipal Global, is something I truly cherish. The interdisciplinary nature of the social sciences is what drew me to it, but I honestly believe that all knowledge is interrelated and pertinent to us as humans that lead a complicated existence and interacting with a variety of subjects, whether intentionally or inadvertently. Therefore, courses such as the one related to 'Chemicals and Health' is relevant to anyone living in the world and dealing with chemicals, and also serves to mythbust certain misconceptions and consciously evaluate misinformation.

While I am certain the information learnt and knowledge gained will indubitably enhance my approach and understanding of subjects both beyond and within my academic discipline, what I really appreciate is the ability to counter to limitations faced by the academic system to teach across a spectrum, especially in the incredibly specialized higher education. Thus, where the education system may make a student choose between science, commerce, and humanities, right from the 11th grade and continues the divergence with further focus on a specific area or discipline, a programme like Coursera offers to fill the gaps - whether informational, a spiritual inclination or a fascination with a related or even distant subject. For example, the course on 'Learning How to Learn' was particularly insightful as a skill developing course useful for anyone who has to study and learn, and conversely, for anyone who hopes to teach or better comprehend pedagogy, across subjects and academic fields. Alternatively, a course such as 'The Science of Gastronomy' changes how one views both science and food, by giving scientific explanations via concept and experiment, and helping one make sense of a recipe, not in terms of simply replicating it, but also understanding why every step occurs.

The necessity, importance and value of a resource like Coursera cannot be emphasized enough, especially considering the sheer expanse and variety of courses offered, and I am emphatically grateful to Manipal Global for the opportunity to gleefully explore this resource.

Nilay Gupta

I used to do free courses on online platforms such as Coursera and edX in my high school. As soon as I came to know that Manipal gave free Coursera subscriptions in my college, I immediately registered for it. I loved my course and my branch, but because of so many options and fields out there, I was confused which one was I really passionate about. That’s where Coursera helped me the most. I did a few courses related to web development, machine learning, robotics and computer vision. That’s how I fell in love with Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. I built projects like smart door locks and designed machines I was really passionate about, and I landed 2 internships in my first and second year due to the skills I gained through hands-on projects on Coursera. My favorite course is the Applied Machine Learning in Python offered by University of Michigan. I would absolutely recommend this course to everyone who'd like to enter the realm of AI/ML/Data Science. This course built my foundations of machine learning, which helped me in applying a myriad machine learning methods in my internships and projects. I really look forward to continue learning on this amazing platform.”

Rachna Jain

I have been auditing Coursera courses for more than 4 years now and have found them to be instrumental in strengthening my knowledge base and enabled me to answer even the difficult questions put in front of me during interviews.

Being a working professional, I used to often spend my evenings going through the course catalogue and trying out courses that interested me, apart from my domain. This provided me exposure to a wide variety of fields, and helped me to gauge where my interests and abilities lie. I used to look forward to go home after work and explore the immense array of opportunities presented to me, in the comfort of my home.

As a result of this, I was able to confidently apply to universities for higher education, outside of my main domain. And was able to get accepted at one of the most prestigious universities in the country.

However, when I received my college sponsored subscription, I was able to not only become aware about more courses but also was able to receive certificates for my completed courses. These certificates gave credibility to my knowledge as well as my resume.

Coursera even helped me during my internship tenure. I was able to apply my learnings in a practical setting with ease and was even able to help my peers with any difficulties they might be facing. The MS Office Excel Specialization especially helped me in this regard as I was able to implement complex functionalities in my dashboards with ease.

Not just that, in my college committee work as well, I have now become the go-to person when it comes to any sort of data handling, thanks to my learning experience with Coursera. Our committee often needs to handle large amounts of very specific data, which frequently needs to be collated, interpreted and shared with the faculty. I use my learnings from Coursera almost daily in order to complete the above tasks.

Even in my personal life when I need to maintain a record of anything, these skills come in extremely handy, and have made my life significantly easier.

Coursera is a pioneer in online learning and with the pandemic this belief has only been reinforced further. Even if there is a field that I am well-versed in, I still learn something new every time I complete a course in my domain. And these learnings enrich areas of my life that I never thought was possible. I can’t wait to explore, learn, and improve more with every passing day; and I’m certain that being associated with Coursera is a step in the right direction.

Rucha Sahasrabudhe

I began learning Spanish at Coursera with Manipal Global but soon tried looking up other courses that interested me. The most recent one that I am still doing is the TESOL certificate course, which has re-ignited my teaching spirit. As a student, I would have had to ask for financial aid, which means completing the entire course in almost double the time necessary. It's such an engaging course that I felt incredible being able to access it entirely through MAHE. Since I wish to pursue a career in teaching going ahead, I'm really grateful for this opportunity and absolutely love that I can access multiple courses.

During the TESOL course particularly, I have learned about the different ways to teach, the techniques, and the learner-centric approach that is really necessary for any teacher to know. I can see that reflected in the way MAHE faculty teaches and makes me proud to be part of the institution. I hope to learn more, especially on lesson planning and teaching languages online as I have some experience in it, and wish to improve on it. This is the field I want to pursue and build a career in, and it feels great to have the support to get there as a student. Enjoying the student experience at Coursera x Manipal for some time now, and hope to continue learning as I am sure it will help flourish my career.

Sauw Hritik Ramchandra

First, I would like to thank Manipal Academy of Higher Education and Coursera for providing such a diverse content of courses and projects at no extra cost. “Your resume is not complete, unless you have a course from coursera on it.” Thanks to the diverse collection of courses, I was able to select few courses to boost my profile. And the journey through these courses have been amazing. The way the courses are designed can really help any individual to grasp the context quickly and to test their understanding, the quiz at the end plays a vital role.

After completing my graduation, when I made my new resume, I felt something was missing. The only thing which showed up on my resume was nothing more than my academics, which reflected I had not done anything extra except my academics. This made me realize the things I have been doing wrong. So as soon as Manipal provided me with Manipal Sponsored Courses on Coursera, I put all my efforts and decided to do something extra, learn more other than academics. I choose a professional certificate in Applied A.I, which comprised of 6 courses. I was always famished with how A.I deals in our day-to-day life, help in solving various problems at an exponential speed in various industries. This thirst to know more about A.I encouraged me to choose this course. Learning these courses was like a roller-coaster, from going easy to complex topic, solving weekly quizzes, but it was a fun ride. I learned several new topics and side by side implemented those in real world applications. I did face a lot on hiccups, understanding the concepts took time but after reading it again and again, visualizing how it works in real world, I grasped the concepts.

Consequently, I enrolled and completed 3 projects associated with those topics. Eventually, I faced issues during these projects, but analyzing the situation, context and the correct way to approach, I was able to complete my projects with a better understanding of the subject. Having no experience in A.I to completing three projects, I believe I’ve just started to walk on the right path and there are many more miles to cover. And I believe Coursera will be my companion throughout this journey. I hope to utilize these skills I learned in an effective way and help develop tools for the betterment of mankind.

Saswati Mishra

I, Saswati Mishra, am a 3rd Year Engineering student pursuing bachelor’s in technology (Information Technology) from Manipal University, Jaipur. It’s been over a year since I started learning from Coursera and I think words will never be enough to describe how utterly grateful I am for this program by Manipal Global. I have done more than 10 courses till now specialising in Python and Digital Marketing and courtesy of Coursera, I was able to secure great internships.

I was always scared of coding and learning from YouTube, or any other learning platform didn’t help me clear my concepts but with Coursera, not only I learnt but also, I was finally over my fear for coding. I have been solving questions, puzzles and even helping my peers get a better understanding of concepts. I wish to pursue a career in Research specialising in Internet of Things and Machine learning and its very difficult for me to pay for all the resources while in college and, the certificates are so costly but with the collaboration of Manipal Global with Coursera, I was able to find good resources for free and even get certified.

When my juniors ask me how I can crack my exams, score a high CGPA and have knowledge about so many things, advising them to join Coursera and be consistent there is the first thing that I do. I never thought I would be able to do so many courses, but Coursera makes it so easy for you. They send you reminder mails to help you keep your momentum and even motivate you to finish 7 weeks course soon. The good thing about all the courses are the peer-graded assignments as it gives me an opportunity to evaluate the work of others and see how they have a different approach to the same problem which really helps me get a better understanding of the topic.

Ever since the Pandemic set in, online classes made me lethargic, but Coursera changed the shape of online teaching. The video lectures are amazingly engaging and, there’s just so much to learn. My goal this year to learn and finish more than 25 courses at least and build a career path which will make me qualified for any job that I want.

If I must define Coursera in one word then I would call it a “blessing” for it really is for someone like me who wants to learn new concepts every day and, want to be consistent. With Coursera, I became a good student and got back the confidence that I lost in the beginning of my college days. I love Coursera and I am grateful to Manipal Global for this program has brought a positive impact in my life making me qualified for jobs, internships and, for my research career.

Soumil Singh

This is my second time taking Coursera in my second year of college, took 3 courses but was not able to finish any of them. Need to get my basics right before completing the courses as not able to understand much of what the course tells me about, finishes them am half not able to complete 100%. But one of them did help me in my 1st-year college internship used MySQL to set up my data tables because of the basic learning from the course able to do and help my team to set up the project. It will help me in future to learn the basics of Machine Learning from Coursera and made some projects which will strengthen my application for pursuing higher studies.

Sunil Mintri

I have been using Coursera since last one year and learning new courses. Yes I believe that it has helped me in my higher studies and have learned from Coursera. As I am a student I have not experienced any change in my job role maybe in future it may help me in changing my role and responsibilities of my career. Other benefit is that I am able to learn many new topics and courses in this pandemic.. And from Coursera I was able to do my both the industrial training..

Thank you to the Manipal education group.

Utkarsh Prakash Srivastava

I learned about Coursera in my 1st year. I visited the website and found it really interesting. I was overwhelmed by seeing and knowing that I will get an opportunity to learn from top universities and companies from all over the world. In my last 2years, coursera has been my major learning platform. Wherever I had doubts or a topic I wanted to get better at, I always visited Coursera. Not only that, I was able to develop new skills which I proudly mention about in my profile. Coursera really has been a great help in my journey.

Vishwajith K

Am here to share my learning experience post Coursera subscription offered by Manipal. Initially it took time for me to find courses on Coursera related to my branch! But, by Dec-2019 I completed my first course on Course - Using Databases with Python. It helped me learn about SQL DB connection with Python and I actually managed to share data from one system to another system with my knowledge on Py. It was an amazing moment for me!

My next unforgettable learning experience with Coursera was a course titled "Version Control with Git". Once again, I learned a lot from the course & I even referred most of my friends at college to learn Git from the course. I had it listed on my resume and it got most of the weight during the interview process for Internship. I even got an offer letter from "Marvell Technologies" for a 11 months internship. I used the tool (Git) that I learned in the course throughout my journey at Marvell. I even managed to ask our director to include the tool usage as part of the syllabus. I got skilled in the tool that I used to explain it to my colleagues.

From here on, I enrolled for courses (>10), specializations (2), projects(3) offered by Coursera-Manipal mostly related to Embedded systems (my field in academics) and some out of the box topics (such as image editing, bioinformatics). One of the courses that I enrolled also helped me learn & use a costliest & proprietary tool for free at the comfort of home. I used to explain concepts that I learned from courses to friends via calls while the pandemic was ruling the world.

The subscription actually levelled up my skills and I wish to continue using this subscription to gain much more knowledge (if possible).

Naren Gurram Sriranga

I would like to thank the opportunity for providing me with the resources for exploring and gaining an understanding of the concepts I wanted to explore outside the syllabus. The courses not only helped me during my education but also provides a better basic knowledge in marker-related tools that are used in various organizations. There is a lot of content on the web which becomes overhead to look into them and understand, but Coursera providing courses that provided understand the theoretical aspect and the guided projected courses gave a practical hands-on understanding of the concept. The discussion in each project had provided me an opportunity to gather other insights and doubt, which made my experience interactive rather than just learning, now after completing the course I am able to help my fellow learning of the same course with their experience and help in their learning; this is helping me to look into the other perspective of the understanding the problem.

And even today I keep looking into Coursera courses when new tools are requested by my fellow member for me to learn or suggest them few courses if they are looking to learn. As of now, I have received only positive feedback for each member whom I have suggested.

Thanks #Manipal and #Coursera for providing me with such great materials