OpenSesame Pilots Coursica™ to Bring Learning To College Students and Recent Graduates Taking a Gap Year
OpenSesame Pilots Coursica™ to Bring Learning To College Students and Recent Graduates Taking a Gap Year
With the majority of U.S. colleges moving to online offerings or imposing strict restrictions on campus life in response to the coronavirus pandemic, many students chose to put their higher education plans on hold this semester. Coursica, a new program powered by online learning innovator OpenSesame, aims to bridge the gap for these students with a new type of virtual internship, or “virtualship.”
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“Pausing or delaying formal education, especially for financial reasons, shouldn’t prevent students from learning”
“Pausing or delaying formal education, especially for financial reasons, shouldn’t prevent students from learning,” said Don Spear, CEO of OpenSesame. “We founded OpenSesame on the idea that education and training can advance everyone, and Coursica allows us to leverage our comprehensive catalog to develop the next generation of learners and leaders.”
The first half of the Coursica program is a training virtualship consisting of 100 hours of curated courses from the OpenSesame catalog, virtual mentoring sessions with the Coursica advisor team, and professional development reading. Students who complete the first part of the program are eligible to apply for paid on-the-job virtualships at OpenSesame or its partner companies in 2021.
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Other business leaders joining Spear on Coursica’s advisor team include fellow OpenSesame co-founder Josh Blank, XCOM Chief Human Resources Officer/Head of HR Tamar Elkeles, New York Times bestselling author Yogi Roth, diversity and inclusion consultant Tara Cooper, and digital marketing specialist Jalyssa T. Woodall.
“Coursica equips participants with the abilities and experience students need to launch their careers,” said Alex Hernandez, Senior People Experience Manager at OpenSesame, who is overseeing the Coursica program. “The core courses in the curriculum teach essential work-ready skills and the additional learning paths allow students to widen their skillsets in disciplines like project management, programming languages, sales, and information technology.”
Applications for Coursica are now open. To qualify, applicants must be currently enrolled in college courses, taking a gap year/semester, or have recently graduated college.
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