How can startups receive $2.4 Million from IBM India?

Coursera, open online education provider, announced that IBM India, the Indian subsidiary of IBM, will source high potential entrepreneurs to invite into its Global Entrepreneur program from Coursera’s Full Stack Web Development Specialization, a series of courses offered by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

At least twenty participants who complete the Full Stack Web Development Specialization and meet IBM criteria will be accepted into the IBM Global Entrepreneur. Selected participants will be provided with $120K USD in credit that may be used to access eligible IBM Cloud services. Additionally, all students enrolled in the Specialization will receive personalized invitations to apply to represent their startups at IBM SmartCamp 2016, a mentoring bootcamp and pitch competition between rising startups from around the globe.

Under this collaboration, Coursera will also offer a Capstone Project to learners who complete all of the courses in the Full Stack Web Development Specialization. The Capstone is designed to prepare entrepreneurs to launch a company on a web-based platform and involves implementing a fully functional client-side application (web application and hybrid mobile application) as well as full server-side implementation. Students enrolled in the Capstone will be provided with extended no charge access to the IBM BlueMix trial platform (estimated value of $1200 USD per student) to develop their projects.

According to a NASSCOM startup report, India is the third largest startup ecosystem in the world. The report also suggested that by 2020, there would be 11,500 startups, employing over 250 mn people. Evidently, the Indian startup landscape is witnessing unparalleled growth and is playing a critical role in shaping the future of the country’s economy.

Speaking on Coursera’s collaboration with IBM, Kabir Chadha, India Country Manager, Coursera, said, "New start-ups are popping up in India every day, and we are pouring significant resources into industry partnerships and content launches to keep up with the demand for tech skills. IBM’s technology expertise and focus on developing the start-up community in the country will significantly benefit our learners by providing them with invaluable financial support and the necessary tools for a chance at success.”

The Full Stack Web Development Specialization is open to anyone for enrollment with start dates every month. The five course Specialization is expected to take around 6 months to complete, based on a minimum investment of 3-4 hours per week, and costs INR 20,000. The Specialization is designed to teach the essential elements of web page development, covering HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and other essential skills for launching a web-based start-up.

IBM is also supporting developers and entrepreneurs through the following additional initiatives in partnership with Coursera. A developer’s guide to the Internet of Things, created by IBM and available on Coursera, is the first curriculum program delivered by a commercial learning partner. IBM created the on-line program to provide a hands on learning approach to building basic skills for IoT. Additionally, IBM is supporting the Social Media Marketing Specialization on Coursera (developed by Northwestern University) for business owners and marketing professionals who want to significantly improve their abilities to grow their social strategy using effective, proven methodologies to profit in a digital world.