Discover the winners of Coursera’s 2025 Customer Awards, celebrating organizations driving innovation and learning excellence worldwide.
Thirteen years ago, Coursera began with a simple yet revolutionary idea: that transformative education should be accessible at scale. Today, as we mark our 13th year, that idea has evolved into a global reality—one where learning transforms industries, reshapes careers, and creates measurable impact on a scale we once only imagined.
The numbers tell a remarkable story: 183 million learners worldwide, governments reshaping national education strategies, corporations driving millions in business value, and universities redefining what it means to prepare students for tomorrow’s economy. Behind these statistics lies a fundamental shift in how the world approaches learning, skills, and human potential.
At our 13th annual Coursera Conference in Las Vegas on September 9th, 2025, we celebrated the evolution of a movement. Our Outstanding Achievement Awards recognize organizations and leaders who have moved beyond experimentation to achieve transformational impact, proving that digital learning drives success across every sector.
From hundreds of nominations worldwide, our internal committee evaluated entries based on dimensions spanning impact, innovation, engagement, values, and community contributions. The selected winners exemplify how learning can drive national competitiveness, corporate transformation, and individual empowerment.
Now, let’s meet our 2025 global award winners and finalists.
AI Innovation Award
This award recognizes organizations that have leveraged AI to enhance their learning programs or are driving the acquisition of AI skills with outstanding results.
Global Winner: Maxis
Maxis has emerged as a regional leader in AI adoption, launching Coursera’s GenAI Academy on its very first day of availability. Their comprehensive AI learning strategy demonstrates end-to-end innovation in GenAI-driven learning that has resulted in a 90% completion rate for AI courses.
Maxis’s innovative approach includes custom learning paths built with Course Builder, gamified AI awareness campaigns, and Credly badging—creating a clear example of how innovation can deliver measurable transformation at scale.
Global Finalist: FPT University
Engagement Excellence Award
This award recognizes institutions that have demonstrated exceptional learner engagement and innovative program implementation.
Global Winner: Estée Lauder
Through their “Grow Your Skills” initiative, Estée Lauder has empowered employees worldwide to chart personalized learning paths aligned with business needs. Their globally scaled program has achieved exceptional engagement metrics with 96% utilization and 7,000+ learning hours logged across all skill levels.
Their multi-channel engagement strategy features curated SkillSets, dashboards, automated reminders, and success stories, all integrated into performance reviews and career mobility programs—creating a model for sustained learning excellence.
Global Finalist: Interbank
Maximizing Impact Award
This award recognizes organizations that have leveraged Coursera’s offerings to create significant, wide-reaching impact.
Global Winner: Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC)
UPC has built one of the most comprehensive digital learning ecosystems in Latin America, integrating Coursera at the heart of their academic programs. Their achievements in democratizing access and enhancing employability are remarkable with more than 540,000 certificates issued, 700,000 credits awarded, and an employment rate of 85% for graduates.
UPC’s innovative use of AI Grading, Coursera Coach, translation features, and self-paced pathways demonstrates how personalized learning can drive both academic excellence and career readiness at scale.
Global Finalist: PwC India
Talent Transformation Award
This award honors an enterprise customer who has best leveraged Coursera to equip their workforce with new skills and enhance productivity.
Global Winner: Aptiv
Aptiv has transformed how 23,000 employees worldwide learn and grow through the Enhanced Aptiv Academy, powered by Coursera. Their comprehensive approach to talent development has delivered exceptional results with 15,000+ active users, 140,000+ learning hours, and demonstrated higher internal mobility and reduced turnover.
Through personalized learning paths, multilingual support, custom Course Builder content, protected learning time, and comprehensive support structures including weekly office hours, Aptiv has created a workforce ready to lead in their industry.
Global Finalist: Ernst & Young
Learning Hero Award
This special award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated notable commitment to fostering an environment of learning.
Global Winner: Minister Sayasat Nurbek, Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Kazakhstan
Under Minister Nurbek’s visionary leadership, Kazakhstan has created a bold national strategy to modernize its higher education system. This initiative exemplifies using education as a force for national transformation:
- 95 universities engaged across the country
- More than 129,000 learners have earned nearly 250,000 certificates
- Faculty nationwide trained on Coursera tools and methodologies
- Inclusive reach into rural and underserved communities with localized content
Minister Nurbek’s program drives inclusive, career-relevant learning at scale while embedding lifelong learning into a broader national skills movement, truly embodying what it means to be a Learning Hero.
Global Finalist: Ministry of Digital Technologies in partnership with IT Education Association for Uzbekistan
Rising Star Award
This award celebrates a customer who has recently embraced Coursera and shown impressive early results, recognizing organizations that demonstrate strong adoption, high learner engagement, and clear signs of lasting transformation.
Global Winner: Universitas Pembangunan Jaya (UPJ)
Just six months after integrating Coursera into its undergraduate curriculum, UPJ has driven rapid and meaningful impact. Students are already using Coursera certificates for job applications and internships. Meanwhile, faculty are leveraging Course Builder tool to redesign teaching for a digital-first future.
UPJ’s commitment to student success, especially for learners facing barriers to overseas study, demonstrates how quickly transformative learning can take root when aligned with clear vision and strong institutional support.
Global Finalist: The Texas A&M University System
To the 183 million learners who make up our global community, to the organizations that have made learning a strategic priority, and to the leaders who champion education as a force for progress: you are writing the future, one skill at a time.
Thank you for making Coursera a movement. Here’s to the next chapter of human potential, powered by the transformative force of learning.
Join CEO Greg Hart to explore how Coursera is leveraging AI to deliver scalable learning experiences and help institutions build accessible, skills-first pathways for learners worldwide. Watch the on-demand keynote
