Filipinos flock to data-centric courses on Coursera

Online learning platform Coursera has released its annual study of learner trends based on data from over 2.1 million registered learners in the Philippines. The data offers insight into the skills, competencies, and subject-matter most desirable to Filipinos.

This year’s data shows that Filipino learners are particularly interested in courses that provide high-demand technology and data science skills, indicating a strong desire to excel in the modern, digital economy. The top course among Filipinos is Google’s Foundations: Data, Data, Everywhere, a popular choice for those seeking to build foundational literacy to stay competitive in an increasingly data-driven world. 

Filipino learners are also keen on personal development courses, with a focus on mental health and wellbeing. They explored the human mind through courses like Learning How to Learn from Deep Teaching Solutions, and Yale University’s The Science of Wellbeing.

There was also an uptake on courses that are part of entry-level Professional Certificates, which require no background knowledge or college degree, and teach the skills needed for entry-level roles.

In 2023, Coursera also saw a huge surge in interest for GenAI content, with searches increasing by five-fold in the Philippines compared to the previous year. The top 3 GenAI courses on Coursera among Filipino learners include Introduction to Generative AI (Google Cloud), Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT (Vanderbilt University), and the newly launched Generative AI for Everyone (DeepLearning.AI). The latter, a course by AI pioneer Andrew Ng, became the fastest-growing course globally on Coursera in 2023 within just six weeks of launch.

Here are the 10 most popular courses in the Philippines for this year: