Coursera, an online technology platform, recently announced that China is now the company's second biggest market, with one million registered users.
Coursera officially launched in China in late 2013 with help from China's largest Internet companies. Today, the company has more than 13 million registered users and offers more than 1,000 online courses.
In an interview with 36kr, Coursera CEO Rick Levin attributed their imposing growth path to an assumption that a high-quality education can cross cultural and geographical boundaries.
Levin urged that a growing number of prestigious universities offer such programs, and Coursera's entry into this space will add greater flexibility for students.
He said that the program proposed in collaboration with the University of Illinois would be contemplated a potential marker of student drive and self-discipline, two qualities that would certainly not go disregarded with employers.
Coursera is working together with NetEase to help students overcome the barriers to a quality education. The online platform believes that working with NetEase can better achieve their goal in China. In the company's blog, they mentioned that the barriers are language, geographical location and tuition costs.
In addition to working with NetEase, Coursera also confirmed that they are now collaborating with a number of China-based partners to improve the learning experience for Chinese students.
The numbers can be a proof of Coursera's plan of expansion in China coming true. As what Levine said in Oct. 2014, China is the company's greatest opportunity for expanding its user base.
Today, the said online learning platform partners with China's five universities to give a high-quality education to Chinese students.