Sue Turk appointed managing director at edutech business Coursera

Edutech outfit Coursera  has appointed Sue Turk as managing director enterprise, Australia and New Zealand.

Sue Turk, managing director Coursera

Prior to Coursera, she held senior management positions with Fujitsu, Cornerstone OnDemand, NetLinkz Ltd and Rubicor Group. 

According to the company she will play a strategic role in deepening Coursera’s investment in Australia and New Zealand with a focus on addressing the skill challenges in the region through partnerships with top companies, higher education institutions and government entities. 

Coursera is one of a clutch of emerging edutech platform businesses, along with companies like Udemy, Skillshare, Masterclass, and Udacity that are looking to establish early, strong positions in the emerging edutech sector which is expected to be worth $350B by the middle of the decade, according to Northridge Partners.

According to investment bankers Northridge Partners, "Micro-learning is an emerging category within e-learning, and is set to benefit as the digitally savvy yet time-poor generation of students emerges from school and university with a higher comfort level and preference for online learning.

"For professional development businesses, this digital savvy cohort is a target rich environment, especially if, as McKinsey & Co argue, the future of learning is about life-long employability and the need to adapt to an ever evolving economy."

Australia and New Zealand have emerged as key markets for Coursera. More than 1.2 million registered learners and more than 60 companies use the platform already.

In her new role, Turk will drive the go-to-market strategy and development of Coursera’s enterprise business – Coursera for Business, Coursera for Campus and Coursera for Governments – across the region.

According to Turk, “For Australia and New Zealand to be well-positioned in the digital economy, new approaches to steer skill development at scale, and stronger collaboration among businesses, government and universities will be critical. This effort can unlock new ways to bring equity and improve access to skills, ensuring an inclusive recovery.”

"Our strong momentum in Australia and New Zealand reflects the continued trend of individuals and institutions embracing online learning to develop high-demand digital skills”, said Raghav Gupta, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Coursera.