A partnership between the University of London and Coursera is opening up the world of IT for potential learners across the globe, through the Google IT Support Professional Certificate.

This Certificate is available on-demand through Coursera for anyone interested in IT, regardless of prior training or qualifications. Not only does the Certificate prepare learners for entry-level roles in IT, but it is also recognised by the University of London as prior learning, giving students exemption from a compulsory module, entitled How Computers Work, on its online BSc Computer Science degree programmes.

The University of London recognises the following five courses of the Google IT Support Professional Certificate as constituting prior learning for its BSc degree programmes:

• Technical Support Fundamentals
• The Bits and Bytes of Computer Networking
• Operating Systems and You: Becoming a Power User
• System Administration and IT Infrastructure Services
• IT Security: Defense against the digital dark arts

Recognised by both small and global firms, the Google IT Support Professional Certificate is taught through a number of engaging activities, including video lectures, quizzes, and hands-on labs and widgets. Learners are introduced to troubleshooting and customer service, as well as networking, operating systems, system administration, automation, and security.

Craig O’Callaghan, Chief Operating Officer (International), University of London, said: “I am delighted that this partnership is based on our shared tradition of open access to quality education for all who can benefit.”

Dr Matthew Yee-King, Lecturer in Computing at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Programme Director for the BSc Computer Science programmes, said: “It is great that, through the Certificate, we have been able to integrate high-quality content, developed by the industry leader in applied computer science, into the learner experience for our students on the new degree programme. This will open up its appeal to a much wider group of people across the world.”

Jeff Maggioncalda, Chief Executive Officer, Coursera, said: “This first-of-its-kind collaboration between the University of London, Google, and Coursera allows learners to gain both job-ready skills and academic credit in a flexible and accessible way.”

He added: “Learners can now apply this foundational knowledge as a gateway to pursuing a career in IT while working their way to a full BSc Computer Science degree from the University of London through Coursera.”

Natalie Van Kleef Conley, Product Lead at Google, said: “As the need for IT professionals continues to grow rapidly around the world, it becomes critical to provide learners with new and innovative pathways to acquire those job-ready skills.”

She added: “We’re excited to see that the University of London has decided to award credit for the Google IT Support Professional Certificate toward its online Bachelor of Science in Computer Science degrees. Going forward, this is a powerful model for further collaboration between industry and academia.”

To enrol for the Google IT Support Professional Certificate, please visit Coursera: https://www.coursera.org/specializations/google-it-support?action=enroll

Anyone interested in registering their interest for the online BSc in Computer Science, can do so through Coursera: https://www.coursera.org/degrees/bachelor-of-science-computer-science-london#request-info

Further details on the BSc Computer Science programmes are available at: https://london.ac.uk/courses/computer-science