Aug 20, 2020   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Udemy for Business Selected to Further Advance Digital Skills of the United States Air Force

Udemy, the largest global marketplace for learning and teaching online, was selected by Business and Enterprise Systems Product Innovation (BESPIN), a United States Air Force (USAF) agile development lab, to upskill Airmen across the entire organization with the newest and most in-demand technical and business skills, including machine learning, web development, artificial intelligence, leadership, data science, and more.

Airmen now have unlimited access to an extensive library of courses under Udemy for Business, the corporate product of Udemy. The content can be accessed through Digital University, a new BESPIN and USAF initiative, that invests in the digital modernization of the USAF. Digital University is a critical initiative of the Air Force’s broader “Digital Air Force” strategy, which kicked off in early 2020. The primary focus of this strategy is to consolidate and advance Air Force IT systems while creating better data efficiencies across the entire organization.

“At a time of accelerated digital transformation, we are committed to nurturing innovation and delivering the best possible training to our Airmen,” said BESPIN chief technology officer MSgt James “Guideaux” Crocker. “With Digital University, we are able to democratize technical training across the Air Force and we are already seeing impressive results as Airmen gain the necessary skills to meet our digital modernization and growth needs.”

BESPIN selected Udemy for Business because of the depth and breadth of the technical content on the platform and the ability to fully support the USAF’s IT modernization and digital transformation efforts. Udemy for Business continuously updates and curates course content in real-time, which is a critical differentiator for IT Airmen who need to enhance skills on the latest technologies. The content is also aligned with priority disciplines at the USAF. The Udemy for Business platform has over 4,000 hand-curated courses created by expert practitioners who constantly update and optimize their content with industry best practices.

“With instant access to fresh content on innovative technologies, I’ve acquired skills that have already made an impact on my daily work,” said Alex Moran, a USAF Airman and BESPIN military member. “The available training and learning communities within Digital University allow me to continuously grow in my role and will provide me with a competitive edge as skills constantly evolve.”

“Udemy is proud to support the U.S. Air Force and BESPIN in their mission to provide Airmen with the best possible digital technology education and training,” said Stephanie Stapleton, Vice President, Customer Success at Udemy. “At the core of our business, we help people do whatever comes next and improve lives through learning. We look forward to expanding access to even more service members in the future, and enabling them to invest in digital modernization and deepen their technical expertise.”

Some of the world’s most innovative companies are using Udemy for Business to help their employees acquire the most competitive skills, including NetApp, NVIDIA, Cisco, BMC Software, and more.

Digital University is currently open to all Air Force personnel, to learn more, please visit Digital University.

About Udemy

With a mission to improve lives through learning, Udemy is the world’s largest online learning destination that helps students, businesses, and governments gain the skills they need to compete in today’s economy. Millions of students are mastering new skills from 57,000 expert instructors teaching over 150,000 online courses in topics from programming and data science to leadership and team building. For companies, Udemy for Business offers an employee training and development platform with subscription access to 4,000+ courses, learning analytics, as well as the ability to host and distribute their own content. Udemy for Government is designed to upskill workers and prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow. Eighty percent of Fortune 100 companies trust Udemy for employee upskilling. Udemy is privately held and headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Denver, Brazil, India, Ireland, and Turkey. Udemy investors include Insight Partners, Prosus Group (Naspers Ventures), Norwest Venture Partners, and Stripes Group.

About BESPIN

BESPIN’s mission is to deliver exceptional custom mobile experiences for all Airmen that improve quality of life, mission success, and safety. The Air Force has to move at an accelerated pace to compete with other superpowers and train the modern warfighter. But many Airmen depend on and use applications that are not equipped for the technological world we live in today. Without a digital transformation, it will be difficult for the United States to remain a powerful player on the world stage and maintain its competitive warfighting edge. BESPIN trains Airmen to build and update applications used by military, civilian, and contractor personnel working in the United States Air Force, allowing Airmen to develop an in-demand skill and increase cost savings for the Air Force.