Coursera, an online learning platform, is introducing a regionally localised pricing model that lowers course prices in Thailand by up to 40%.
This initiative makes its online learning courses more accessible, helps to stimulate artificial intelligence (AI) skill development to meet urgent demand, and supports Thailand’s ambition to become an AI hub, said Ashutosh Gupta, managing director for Asia-Pacific at Coursera.
Thailand stands to gain 2.6 trillion baht from an AI-led economy, accounting for 15% of Southeast Asia’s total AI potential.
“The world is going through a lot of change, disruption and displacement, presenting challenges and opportunities,” Mr Gupta said.
According to the World Economic Forum, 35% of key skills in Thailand will change in five years.
“If the Thai workforce were 100 people, 56 would need retraining by 2030, while nine are unlikely to be retrained. This highlights the urgent need for upskilling to prepare for the future of work,” said Mr Gupta.
“Learners must scale to meet urgent demand. We need to rethink training and learning.”
He said Thailand is advancing its AI skills through key initiatives like the National AI Strategy (2022-2027). These efforts focus on training 30,000 AI professionals, stimulating 100 AI innovations, and expanding adoption in over 600 organisations.
Investments target digital infrastructure, industry-aligned education, and flexible university programmes like the Higher Education Sandbox. The goal is to reach a top-50 global AI readiness ranking by 2025, supported by expanded degree programmes and scholarships, said Mr Gupta.
He cited Unesco data that found that access to higher education is limited, as 40% of people entering the global workforce had college-level education, while in Thailand the rate is 44%.
“To reduce this challenge, it needs to provide world-class courses with affordable prices,” said Mr Gupta.
Affordable prices
Coursera has introduced a regional geographic approach based on affordability that lowers the average course price by 40% in Thailand.
The company is partnering with OpenAI to become the first online learning platform embedded in ChatGPT, which can suggest the Coursera app to ChatGPT users and suggest appropriate content to Coursera’s learners.
This partnership allows Coursera to offer the most widely used AI tool in the world, and reflects OpenAI’s commitment to expand access to education, Mr Gupta said.
As of June 2025, Coursera recorded significant growth with 1.1 million registered learners, a fivefold increase since 2019.
The typical learner is 33 years old, and enrolment is split equally between men and women, with a focus on job-relevant, digital, and business skills, in a hands-on learning experience.
The most popular courses from January to September 2025 were “Introduction to AI” from Google, “Maximize Productivity with AI Tools” from Google, and “Discover the Art of Prompting” from Google.
The company has 30 enterprise customers and seven campus customers in Thailand.
There is huge demand for generative AI (GenAI) skills, with 250,000 enrolments for GenAI courses in Thailand.
“We see one enrolment every three minutes, up from one every 16 minutes last year,” said Mr Gupta.
There are more than 1,000 GenAI courses and projects on Coursera.
Of the top 10 popular courses in Thailand, nine are related to AI which reflect Thais’ focus on AI.
In Thailand, GenAI adoption varies significantly across generations, with millennials leading the way in reskilling efforts at 56%, followed by Gen X at 31%, Gen Z at 9%, and Boomers at 4%.
When it comes to the gender gap in GenAI skills, men comprise 62% of enrolments, while women account for 38%. However, enrolment growth is faster amongst women, rising by 370% compared with 190% for men.