Gütersloh, 09/15/2020

Bertelsmann Launches Round Two Of Its Digital Initiative

Bertelsmann is launching the second round of its #50000Chances digital initiative. A total of 50,000 tech skills scholarships will be given away through 2021. In this second round, 15,000 scholarships will be awarded for Udacity courses in the fields of Cloud, Data and Artificial Intelligence. Applications are now being accepted.

Bertelsmann is launching the second round of its #50000Chances digital initiative, under which 50,000 tech skills scholarships on the online learning platform Udacity will be awarded through 2021. The 15,000 participants in the first round have already largely completed their courses; now interested parties can apply for another 15,000 scholarships for Udacity courses in the fields of Cloud, Data and Artificial Intelligence. Applications are now being accepted at www.udacity.com/bertelsmann-tech-scholarships . Ten percent of the graduates will be offered a follow-on scholarship for a full Nanodegree® program.

With the Udacity Technology Scholarship Program under the motto #50000Chances, Bertelsmann seeks to counteract the shortage of skilled workers in the tech sector and empower interested parties worldwide to acquire the digital skills needed for tomorrow’s job market.

Udacity, a global pioneer in lifelong learning, is an online education platform that develops practical online courses and learning paths in collaboration with leading tech companies. Bertelsmann is the company’s strategic partner and one of its largest shareholders.

Last year, around 45,600 people from six continents applied for the 15,000 first-round scholarships; 2,300 applications were submitted by Bertelsmann employees. In round two, the media, services and education company will again run an extensive image campaign and target applicants directly.

Bertelsmann Chairman & CEO Thomas Rabe said: “Response to our scholarship program has already been huge, which reinforces our resolve to get even more people around the world excited about exploring the new technologies. The demand is enormous: a few hundred thousand qualified experts on the supply side vs. demand in the millions. The corona pandemic has in many cases accelerated the transition to digital business models and has once again highlighted the shortage of skilled workers. Bertelsmann feels a responsibility here to create access to the new tech skills and to open up opportunities.”

The Udacity Challenge Courses offered under the initiative each run for three months and require three to five hours a week to complete. Interested parties can choose between three subject areas: “Cloud,” i.e., applications for online-based IT infrastructures; “Data,” i.e., applications for the analysis and interpretation of large volumes of data; and “Artificial Intelligence,” i.e., applications related to machine learning and intelligent algorithms.