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    8 websites offering free or paid online courses that can enhance your career

    Synopsis

    The lockdown is a good time to upskill or acquire knowledge in a new field. ​​Acquiring a new skill can help you enhance your career. Do keep in mind that the certification may not land you a job unless you can prove your calibre.

    online-learning-gettyGetty Images
    Formerly Lynda.com, LinkedIn Learning is an e-learning platform that offers online video courses by industry professionals, in five languages.
    The lockdown is a good time to upskill or acquire knowledge in a new field. ET Wealth lists some websites offering free or paid courses that can help enhance your career.

    Remember, however, that the certification may not land you a job unless you can prove your calibre.

    • Coursera (coursera.org)
    Founded by two Stanford professors in 2012, it partners with more than 200 top global universities and industry educators, including Johns Hopkins University, Imperial College London, Stanford, Intel, Google, Insead, ISB and Caltech, among several others.

    Is it free?
    It offers both free and paid courses, with individual courses costing $30-100 (Rs 2,250-7,500), programs and specialisations $30-80 (Rs 2,250-6,000), and degrees starting at $15,000 (Rs 11.2 lakh).

    Degree/Certifications
    It offers courses, specialisations, certificates and degree programs, including bachelor’s and master’s degrees, even an MBA degree.

    Course categories
    It offers over 4,300 courses, 320 projects, 440 specialisations, 30 certificates and 20 degrees. The subjects range from data science, IT, artificial intelligence and computer science to digital marketing, social sciences, arts and humanities, among many others.

    • EdX (edx.org)
    A Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), non-profit and open source platform, it was founded by Harvard and MIT in 2012. It is affiliated with 140 top-ranked universities and institutions, ranging from Harvard, Oxford, MIT, Cornell and IBM, to Australian National University and Hong Kong Polytechnic.

    Is it free?
    It offers both free and fee-based courses. The fees for the verified track ranges from US $50-300 (Rs 3,750-22,500).

    Degree/certification
    While it does not offer certificates for archived courses, verified certificates are available for a fee for specified courses.

    Course categories
    Courses and programs are offered at the undergraduate, graduate and master's level, besides professional certification and executive education programs. It offers over 2,500 courses in data science, engineering, computer science, electronics architecture, arts, humanities, biology, business & management, architecture and economics, among several others.

    • Udemy (udemy.com)
    Founded in 2010, this is an online learning and teaching forum for students and professionals. You can download courses to watch offline or listen to them in podcast style, in 65 languages, by choosing from 57,000 instructors across the world.

    Is it free?
    It is a paid platform with courses starting from Rs 360 onwards.

    Degree/certification
    It does not offer accredited degrees or certificates, only a certificate of completion for your course.

    Course categories
    It offers 1.5 lakh courses in business, design, development, photography, music, marketing, IT & software, and personal development.

    • Codeacademy (codeacademy.com)
    An online interactive platform founded in 2011 and based in New York, it offers coding classes in the form of articles and videos.

    Is it free?
    It has both free and paid versions. The free option is called Basic, and the paid plan is Pro, which costs Rs 1,199 a month, billed yearly.

    Degree/certification
    It offers a certificate of completion on finishing a course

    Course categories
    It offers coding in 14 languages, including HTML & CSS, Python, JavaScript, Java, SQL, Bash/Shell, Ruby, C++, R, C#, PHP, Go, Swift, and Kotlin. It also teaches subjects including Web development, data science, computer science, developer tools, machine learning, code foundations, Web design, game development, mobile development, and data visualisation.

    • ApnaCourse (apnacourse.com)
    This Indian MOOC started in 2013 and is an e-tutoring platform for professional courses and certificate programs. It offers training through instructors, videos and interactive sessions.

    Is it free?
    It does offer 27 free courses, but is essentially a paid platform (with free trial), and prices are mentioned for individual courses on the course page. It is also available (ApnaCourse Privilege) on monthly (Rs 150), half-yearly (Rs 800) and annual subscription (Rs 1,500).

    Degree/certification
    It offers a course completion certificate in most courses, and is given jointly by the partner trainer or training institute.

    Course categories
    It offers over 139 courses in banking & finance, IT & security, project & ops management, law, sales & marketing, language, personal development, HR management, data and statistics analytics, business study and academics.

    • Alison (alison.com)
    Founded in Ireland in 2007, this free online platform offers courses in workplace-based skills. It offers courses from top universities in the world, including Stanford, MIT, Cambridge, Harvard, Lund and Yale, among others.

    Is it free?
    All courses are free of cost. It offers an upgradation to the Premium monthly package, which is an optional, paid-for subscription that allows one access to more features on the site.

    Degree/certification
    For a fee, it offers certificates, diplomas, and learning path level programs.

    Course categories
    It offers 1,700 courses in nine fields, including technology, business, marketing, humanities, language, health, science, maths and lifestyle.

    • Stanford Online (online.stanford.edu)
    The US university started its online program in 1995, providing exposure to its own faculty and courses from its own schools, including the Stanford School of Engineering, Law, Medicine, Humanities & Sciences, etc. Some courses are also a part of platforms such as EdX and Coursera.

    Is it free?
    It offers free and paid courses. The tuition fee for master’s degree and graduate certificate courses is $1,352 (Rs 1.01 lakh) per unit, with each course ranging from 3-5 units. The professional courses tuition fee varies by course, typically costing $495-$995 (Rs 37,000-75,000).

    Degree/certification
    It offers graduate and professional certificates, master’s degrees, as well as global and executive education programs.

    Course categories
    These include arts & humanities, AI, computer science, business & management, data science, education, engineering, environment & energy, health & medicine, innovation & entrepreneurship, natural & social sciences, and personal development.

    • LinkedIn Learning (linkedin.com/learning/?trk=lynda_direct_learning)
    Formerly Lynda.com, LinkedIn Learning is an e-learning platform that offers online video courses by industry professionals, in five languages. You can access it both via the desktop and mobile phone, with an app that is available for iOS and Android users.

    Is it free?
    There is a one-month free trial, after which Rs 1,400 per month (or Rs 900 per month if you opt for annual subscription) will be charged

    Degree/certification
    It offers certificates of completion.

    Course categories
    It offers 15,000 online courses in business, technology and creative fields. These are divided into beginner, intermediate and advanced levels, providing courses for work and higher education.

    NOTE: Information collected from websites. There are various other online e-learning platforms that offer both free and paid courses with certificates. Some of these offer more focused courses, such as Google Digital Garage (digital marketing), Microsoft Learn (Microsoft-related jobs), and Oxford Home Study (management), among others.
    ( Originally published on Aug 24, 2020 )

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