Registration is now open for those wishing to benefit from training opportunities under the "Nation Program", jointly implemented by the Centre for the Analysis and Coordination of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4SIM) and the Education Development Fund.
The second phase of the "Nation Program", carried out in collaboration between 4SIM, operating under the Ministry of Economy, and the Education Development Fund, under the Ministry of Science and Education, has officially commenced. Citizens of Azerbaijan, irrespective of age or employment status, are eligible to participate in these complimentary training sessions. Interested individuals may register via form.4sim.gov.az. Following registration, participants will be granted licences enabling them to access six weeks of free training on the online education platform "Coursera" from May onwards.
It is worth noting that, within the framework of the "Nation Program", the first 7,500 participants commenced their free training from 1st April. To date, citizens have registered for a total of 20,242 courses via the platform. Of these, 2,326 courses have already been completed successfully, with participants who fulfilled the requirements receiving internationally recognised certificates.
The Program aims to enable tens of thousands of users to benefit from training on "Coursera" over the course of a year, helping to cultivate knowledge and skills in Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies. The overarching objective is to expedite Azerbaijan’s transition to a digital economy and to foster a skilled workforce equipped for the emerging demands of the labour market.
Through "Coursera", participants will have access to a diverse range of courses and training programmes offered by nearly 350 esteemed universities and leading technology companies, including Oxford, Stanford, Yale, Duke, London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Michigan, Johns Hopkins, Illinois, Florida, Sydney, as well as Microsoft, Google, Meta, IBM, AWS, Oracle, GitLab, Intel, SAP, and Salesforce. In total, up to 8,000 specialised courses are available, spanning fields such as 4IR technologies, artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, data analytics, blockchain, cloud technologies, programming languages, leadership, personal development, and communication skills. Furthermore, the 2,500 most popular courses are accompanied by Azerbaijani-language subtitles generated through artificial intelligence.
It is also worth recalling that last year, the "4IR Academy" pilot project enabled 10,000 participants to access free courses on "Coursera" over the course of one year, through a rotating enrolment system. Collectively, participants engaged in over 32,000 hours of learning, and 4,200 international certificates were awarded to those who successfully completed their studies. In 2024, the project was honoured with the "Outstanding Achievement Award" in the "AI Innovation" category by Coursera.
The main partners supporting this programme include SOCAR, Pasha Holding, bp, and JOCAP.
