Online Education with a Focus on
Health and Technology
The Bertelsmann Education Group encompasses Bertelsmann’s education businesses. The group is shaping professional learning in the 21st century with digital education and service offerings focused on the healthcare and technology sectors, and it draws on Bertelsmann’s resources and global network. The Bertelsmann Education Group is wholly owned by Bertelsmann.
www.bertelsmann-education-group.comEducation Highlights 2017
International Expansion
In January 2017, the online education provider Relias launched business operations in China, beginning the next chapter of its international expansion alongside Bertelsmann. A notable senior care company and a leading private hospital network in China, among others, became the Bertelsmann subsidiary’s first clients. The e-learning provider also made progress in its other overseas markets. In Germany, Relias first presented itself to a large audience as a sponsor of “Deutscher Pflegetag,” the German nursing expo in Berlin. More than 80 hospitals used Relias Germany’s compliance training last year. In the United Kingdom, the company expanded its customer base and contributed an online training program to the Zero Suicide Alliance, which works to combat the nation's high suicide rate.
New Headquarters for Relias
In August 2017, the online education provider Relias announced construction of a new corporate headquarters. The new HQ will be ready for move-in in spring 2019 and will provide optimal conditions for the 400 employees at the growing company’s home base. Geographically, Relias is staying within North Carolina’s “Triangle,” a region where the Bertelsmann subsidiary’s neighbors include numerous universities, research facilities and innovative high-tech companies. The company also has offices in Boston, St. Louis and Boise, as well as international offices in the United Kingdom, China and Germany. At the end of 2017, the company had 700 employees.
Soar into the Future with Udacity
For centuries, great thinkers have found inspiration in the skies. Today, we are on the cusp of a new era that will redefine our entire concept of aerial innovation. Since 2017, the online education platform Udacity has developed curricula and projects in aerospace engineering and autonomous flight in collaboration with instructors from MIT, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and the University of Toronto. In 2017, Udacity announced the Flying Car Nanodegree program, where working professionals can learn the skills needed for a career in developing autonomous flight systems. The program is one of Udacity’s 12 new Nanodegree programs launched last year, thereby significantly expanding its offerings. In total, the Silicon Valley company now offers learners more than 20 different professional training options in the areas of digital marketing, data science and machine learning.
Advancing into New Lines of Business
In June 2017, the online education provider Relias, part of the Bertelsmann Education Group, took over the US company WhiteCloud Analytics, which focuses on data analytics in the healthcare sector. The acquisition of the company, which was founded in 2009, allows Relias to complement its e-learning offerings with in-depth data analytics and performance management tools. The Bertelsmann subsidiary has thus expanded its expertise in order to support companies in the healthcare sector at facilitating data-driven performance improvements. The acquisition continues the company’s expansionist course – WhiteCloud is Relias’s seventh acquisition since March 2016.
Udacity Launches in MENA
Udacity ended 2017 with more than eight million enrolled students across free and paid courses, up from five million at the end of 2016. Much of this growth came from international expansion. Today, Udacity, in which Bertelsmann owns a significant stake, has students in nearly every country in the world and operations in seven different countries. The company has teams on the ground in Cairo and Riyadh, and its newest office is in Dubai. Udacity sees incredible opportunity in the region: 60 percent of the population is under the age of 25, and this generation is among the most digitally connected populations in the world. And yet, youth unemployment is twice as high as the world average. This represents a chance to transform an entire region by connecting the desire to learn with the opportunities to succeed.
