September 16, 2013
Birchtree Global, LLC recommends CEOs consider promoting Coursera online university courses to their employees. The courses are taught by distinguished faculty members, they are foundational to understanding business operations, they increase top line capability in businesses by bringing in new skills, and they reduce costs because the programs are free.
The following programs start soon. Additional information can be found on Coursera.org:
Janet L. Walsh
Johns Hopkins
Computing for Data Analysis
Roger Peng
This course is about learning the fundamental computing skills necessary for effective data analysis. You will learn to program in R and to use R for reading data, writing functions, making informative graphs, and applying modern statistical methods.
Sep 23- 4 weeks
University of Washington
Mathematical Methods for Quantitative Finance
Dr. Kjell Konis
Mathematical Methods for Quantitative Finance covers topics from calculus and linear algebra that are fundamental for the study of mathematical finance. Students successfully completing this course will be mathematically well prepared to study quantitative finance at the graduate level.
Sep 25-8 weeks
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
The Role of the Renminbi in the International Monetary System
Prof. Joseph Yam and Prof. Terence Tai-Leung Chong
This course will discuss various aspects of the Renminbi internationalization, including the reform of the international monetary system, the opportunities and challenges to internationalize the Renminbi, the evolution of China’s monetary and exchange rate policies, and the implications of the Renminbi internationalization for Hong Kong.
Sep 30-4 weeks.
Wharton
An Introduction to Operations Management
Christian Terwiesch
This course will teach you how to analyze and improve business processes, be it in services or in manufacturing. You will learn how to improve productivity, how to provide more choice to customers, how to reduce response times, and how to improve quality.
Sep 30-8 weeks
University of Maryland
Surviving Disruptive Technologies
Hank C. Lucas, Jr.
The purpose of this course is to help participants and the organizations they encounter survive the waves of technological disruptions facing business, government, education and their daily lives.
Sep 30-7 weeks
University of California-Irvine
Foundations of Virtual Instruction
Cindy Carbajal
Learn what it takes to teach a K-12 course online! Investigate the history of virtual education, explore innovative tools, and examine key issues related to K-12 virtual instruction.
Sep 30-5 weeks
Columbia University
Financial Engineering and Risk Management Part I
Martin Haugh and Garud Iyengar
This course provides an introduction to various classes of derivative securities and we will learn how to price them using “risk-neutral pricing”. In the follow-up to this course (FE & RM Part II) we will consider portfolio optimization, risk management and more advanced examples of derivatives pricing including, for example, real options and energy derivatives.
Oct-7 weeks
Wharton
An Introduction to Marketing
David Bell, Peter Fader and Barbara E. Kahn
This Wharton course will teach the fundamentals of marketing by getting to the root of customer decision making. The course will focus on branding strategies, customer centricity and new market entry
Oct 14-9 weeks
University of Michigan
Introduction to Finance
Gautam Kaul
This course will introduce you to frameworks and tools to measure value; both for corporate and personal assets. It will also help you in decision-making, again at both the corporate and personal levels.
Oct 7-15 weeks
