TALENT DEVELOPMENT
PRnewswire | May 02, 2023
edX, a leading global online learning platform from 2U, Inc., today announced a new partnership with global data and AI leader Databricks to launch a Large Language Models (LLMs) Professional Certificate program, the first of its kind on edX.org. This program is designed to equip developers, data scientists, and engineers with the applied knowledge and skills needed to understand the foundational technology behind recent advancements in artificial intelligence, such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Databricks' Dolly. Through dynamic lectures, demos, and hands-on labs taught by industry leaders and renowned researchers—such as Matei Zaharia, co-founder and chief technologist at Databricks and computer science professor at Stanford University—students will learn how to develop and productionize LLM applications.
Comprising two courses, LLMs: Application through Production and LLMs: Foundation Models from the Ground Up, this Professional Certificate program provides a comprehensive overview of the latest frameworks, techniques, and foundation models used in the field of LLMs. By the end of the program, learners will have built their own end-to-end LLM workflows that are ready for production. These courses add to edX's catalog of more than 4,200 online learning experiences developed in partnership with the world's top universities and corporations, from free courses to full degrees.
"With the recent advancements in generative AI, there is an urgency for organizations to leverage LLMs in their own products and applications. This has led to an increased demand for professionals with necessary knowledge and skills related to language models," said Patrick Wendell, co-founder and VP of engineering at Databricks. "Our LLM-focused program taught by leading experts on the edX platform is an important step in meeting that demand while broadening access to the critical skills that professionals need to thrive in a rapidly changing environment."
According to Esmi Burning Glass, the number of U.S. job postings requiring AI skills will increase nearly 300% between 2022 and 2024, and a survey by Gartner found that over 50% of corporate leaders see AI as a priority to help them stay ahead of competitors. The new LLM Professional Certificate program from Databricks on edX will enable professionals around the world to build and productionize innovative solutions to natural language processing problems and help elevate their careers.
"The demand for professionals skilled in machine learning and AI will continue to grow as automation technology continues to advance at breakneck speed," said Andrew Hermalyn, president of partnerships at 2U, the parent company of edX. "edX is thrilled to partner with Databricks to help address the current market gap by equipping more learners around the world with the necessary skills to succeed in this fast-growing field."
Professional Certificate programs on edX are designed to build and enhance critical professional skills needed to succeed in today's most in-demand fields. Learners who complete the Databricks LLM Professional Certificate program will earn a program certificate that showcases their knowledge and skills, which they can include on their resumes.
The program is open for enrollment now for courses set to begin in Summer 2023. The Databricks LLM Professional Certificate program is free to try for all learners. Like edX, Databricks is committed to expanding access to education, especially in the highly relevant, in-demand field of AI.
About edX
edX is the global online learning platform that exists to help learners everywhere unlock their potential. edX was founded by Harvard and MIT in 2012 to make the world's best education available to everyone. Today, as a 2U, Inc. company (Nasdaq: TWOU), edX connects 76 million people worldwide with the skills, knowledge, and support to achieve their goals. Together with the world's leading universities and companies, edX offers thousands of free and open courses, professional certificates, boot camps, credit-bearing micro credentials, and undergraduate and graduate degrees.
About Databricks
Databricks is the data and AI company. More than 9,000 organizations worldwide—including Comcast, Condé Nast, and over 50% of the Fortune 500—rely on the Databricks Lakehouse Platform to unify their data, analytics, and AI. Databricks is headquartered in San Francisco with offices around the globe. Founded by the original creators of Apache Spark™, Delta Lake, and MLflow, Databricks is on a mission to help data teams solve the world's toughest problems.
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ONLINE EDUCATION
PRnewswire | May 03, 2023
Teachstone, a leader in the field of classroom observation and professional development, is proud to announce a new partnership with Teach For America (TFA) to enhance coaching supports and educator-child interactions. TFA will be using Teachstone's Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS®) tool to prepare coaching staff to reliably and accurately observe and collect data across diverse classroom settings. As part of this partnership, 120 coaches will be trained, who collectively support 4,000 teachers who work in high-need schools.
Teachstone's mission is to help every child reach their full potential by measuring and improving the interactions that matter most, with the vision of ensuring that everyone experiences life-changing teaching.
For over 30 years, TFA has worked to recruit and develop teachers and leaders across the country. TFA is committed to pursuing their goal that by 2030, twice as many children in communities where they work will reach key educational milestones indicating that they are on a path to economic mobility and a future filled with possibility.
By using CLASS, TFA will have a new, research based tool to help them as they work to improve outcomes for children and communities. CLASS allows educators to focus on, measure and improve the classroom interactions that have been proven to support children developing in literacy, math, and social-emotional learning. The tool works across diverse settings and populations and helps teachers be more intentional in how they interact with students, enabling them to build stronger relationships and respond appropriately to each student, closing gaps in learning outcomes.
TFA will use CLASS data as steering metrics to: (1) Support corps members in their instructional development and provide customized supports based on rigorous data, identify corps members who are struggling and need intensive supports or interventions, (2) drive continuous improvement of program, policy, and/or practices, and (3) inform strategic decisions at the local and national levels.
And, finally, as a result of this partnership, TFA will have year-over-year data from thousands of classrooms enrolling historically marginalized students across the country. This is an unprecedented amount of data that will be used to improve practice and inform the broader field.
"We are excited to expand our impact by partnering with Teach For America," said Bridget Hamre, CEO of Teachstone. "Our organizations share a commitment to ensuring that each and every child has a meaningful and equitable education. We are excited to learn alongside TFA as we seek to understand how to create meaningful change in children's daily classroom experiences at a very large scale."
"Teach For America's partnership with Teachstone puts us on a path to train our teachers to use rigorous data to improve the quality of interactions students are having in classrooms. " said Noemi Wierwille, Teach For America's Chief Learning Officer. "By making meaning of the data, identifying areas for improvement, and building the skills to continuously evolve their practice, our teachers can maximize student learning and development. With thousands of classrooms in our network using CLASS, we can contribute important insights to the field and ensure more educators can foster dynamic and inclusive learning environments, especially early in their careers."
About Teachstone
Teachstone is a leader in the field of education from birth to 12th grade. Its CLASS tool measures and improves interactions between teachers and students, with the vision of ensuring that everyone experiences life-changing teaching.
About Teach For America
Teach For America is a national nonprofit organization that recruits and develops a diverse network of leaders committed to expanding educational opportunity. Its goal is that one day, all children in the United States will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education.
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CORPORATE LEARNING SYSTEMS
PRnewswire | May 16, 2023
General Assembly (GA) today announced the launch of GA Talent, a new division created within global talent solutions provider LHH to close persistent skill gaps as demand for tech talent increases across a range of industries. GA Talent's flagship solution, known as Recruit-Train-Deploy (RTD), is designed to help businesses build stronger and more diverse tech talent pipelines while also creating new pathways into resilient, high-wage roles for aspiring tech workers.
"Business leaders today are facing an economic landscape defined by uncertainty. But one thing that's clear is that the old methods of recruitment and talent acquisition aren't working," said Roger Lee, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at General Assembly. "As market demands fluctuate and the economy continues to shift, we're launching RTD to meet businesses where they are, and to unlock opportunities for tens of thousands of workers with the skills to succeed in high-demand tech roles. This is about helping tech talent leaders look outside traditional talent pools to not just find and recruit competitive tech candidates at scale — but also equip them with the skills needed to succeed in a changing world of work."
According to GA's recent "State of Talent Acquisition 2023" report, more than nine in 10 tech hiring managers are not completely confident that their current approaches to recruiting and hiring will be enough to fill open roles in fields like software engineering, data analytics, and UX design. GA and LHH are launching the RTD solution to address this challenge head-on, providing employers with new hiring systems that can reduce costs and fill more specialized junior tech roles from a large and fast-growing talent pool.
GA Talent will fully harness the power of GA's parent company, The Adecco Group, by bridging GA's industry-leading tech training models with cutting-edge Recruitment Solutions from global talent solutions provider LHH. Drawing on decades of combined experience sourcing, training, and deploying talent into higher-paying technology jobs, the two companies will play an active role in connecting companies with reliable pipelines of junior tech talent; improving performance and retention rates through mentorship and training aligned with each client's tech stack; and saving financial resources with more flexible and scalable onboarding and talent management processes.
At a time of declining college enrollment, GA Talent's Recruit-Train-Deploy solution will enable employers to look outside an increasingly limited university graduate pool for non-traditional, new-to-technology talent by connecting them directly to approximately 5,000 new graduates per year as well as GA's global community of nearly 100,000 alumni. Candidates will be directly deployed to employers on a 12-18 month contract basis, during which GA and LHH will cover all HR costs and processes – including benefits, competitive hourly pay, holiday pay and sick leave, as well as coaching services for talent over the course of their contract – streamlining and speeding up the process of vetting, onboarding and retaining new talent.
"Amidst growing demand for workers with technology skills, even outside of traditional tech industries, GA is doubling down on its commitment to connecting employers with job-ready, diverse junior talent," said Shannon Adams, Global Head of Client Solutions for GA Talent. "By bringing together GA's best-in-class technology training with LHH's leading-edge recruiting solutions, we're taking an entirely new approach to helping companies build their future workforce while also expanding access to opportunities for career and economic mobility."
About General Assembly:
Since 2011, General Assembly (GA) has launched the technology careers of tens of thousands of diverse individuals and cultivated emerging tech talent pipelines for hundreds of the world's leading employers. As featured in The Economist, Wired, and The New York Times, GA offers bootcamps, digital upskilling, apprenticeships, and other career onramps into today's most in-demand jobs in web development, data, design, and more. Part of global HR solutions giant The Adecco Group, GA has become a leading provider of world-class technical training, equitable job opportunity, and social impact. GA has been recognized as one of Deloitte's Technology Fast 500, and a Fast Company World-Changing Idea, as well as the #1 Most Innovative Company in Education.
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