QuickWire: Deal Eases Coursera’s Entry to Chinese Market

Coursera, a pioneer of massive open online courses, said on Monday night that a new partnership with a Chinese Internet company would allow Coursera to offer courses to millions of the company’s customers across China. The Chinese company, NetEase, provides Internet connections and online games, and claims to operate China’s largest e-mail service.

A Coursera news release said the partnership would begin with the opening of a Chinese-language Web portal for Coursera that will provide “Chinese-language course synopses, student testimonials, FAQs, and discussion forums that cater to the specific needs and interests of Chinese students.” NetEase will also host video content for Coursera classes on local servers to make streaming easier for Chinese students.

Coursera said it was also working with universities—including Peking University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and National Taiwan University—to improve its offerings for Chinese students. In addition, it has joined with Yeeyan.org, a community of volunteer translators, and the Chinese social-networking site Guokr to begin translating existing Coursera courses into Chinese.