Know the top online courses of 2022

According to the data analysed by Coursera, the most popular courses in 2022 were data-related courses on the foundation level from Google. The demand for these courses increased by 45 per cent in 2022.

For top-consumed technical skills, cloud computing skills remain a primary area of focus with topics related to Amazon Web Services (AWS) claiming four of the top 10 most-consumed skills. Skills and solutions for data analysis and security also ranked high among the surging technical skills, a report by Udemy revealed.

The demand for courses on Databricks also saw an increase of 2161 per cent, as per Udemy. Similarly, courses on System design interviews saw an increase of 1012 per cent, followed by a 643 per cent increase in 5 G-related courses. “Technical skills will lead to the rise of new industries, as well as impact existing businesses and change the way we do things,” said Irwin Anand, Managing Director for India and the Asia-Pacific region at Udemy. “Businesses will need to adapt to the new wave of flexible and effective skill development to make their workforce future-ready,” he added.

University of Michigan’s course ‘Programming for Everybody (Getting Started with Python)’ saw over 104,000 registrations, which is a 14 per cent increase from last year. Similarly, Google’s crash course on Python also saw a 98 per cent increase on Coursera.  Even though Stanford University changed the machine learning course to specialisation mid-year, the course saw over 90,000 registrations and emerged as one of the most popular courses of the year in 2022.

Other than the technical courses, Foundations of Project Management from Google also witnessed a good number of registrations, and became one of the top 5 courses of 2022.

Soft skills equally important

Gone are the days when technical skills were all that an employee needed in the corporate world. These days, employees are also motivated to gain and improve soft skills. When it comes to personal skills, employees are setting themselves up for global leadership and workplace resilience. Many of the top personal growth skills reflect employees’ desire to manage stressors better, including the burnout which so many are feeling. The top soft/ personal skills-related courses that became popular among employees are:

• Consciousness (increased 825 per cent)
• Self-esteem (increased 105 per cent)
• Growth mindset (increased 82 per cent)

Off-beat courses

The education sector is trying to move away from tech, law, and management courses. Students are increasingly showing interest in several other unconventional courses such as in the field of Animal Health, Nutrition, music and arts, and Environment and Sustainability.

List of unconventional courses popular among students in 2022. (Graphics by Abhishek Mitra)

Udemy’s data revealed that courses in the Korean language became increasingly popular in India. The Korean language course saw an increase of 175 per cent in 2022, as against the registrations in 2021. Interestingly, courses on Psychology also emerged as popular with a registration increase of 88 per cent this year, Udemy analysed.