Artificial intelligence is moving quickly. Inside most organizations, the conversation has already moved beyond access. The challenge now is how to use these tools well—consistently, thoughtfully, and at scale.

In this episode of The Coursera Podcast, Arunav Sinha and Marni Baker Stein sit down with Rasesh Shah, Chief Practice Officer at Fractal Analytics, to talk about what it actually takes to build that kind of capability.

Rasesh shares how Fractal approaches learning through real business problems, why multidisciplinary teams often struggle to connect the dots, and how their 3C framework (Context, Connections, and Creativity) helps teams move from analysis to action.

The conversation also gets into what leaders are wrestling with right now: how to move beyond pilots, how to measure impact, and how to turn AI momentum into something that actually improves performance.

We also cover:

🧠 Where teams tend to get stuck when working with AI

🔗 Why connecting business, engineering, and data is harder than it looks

📊 The questions leaders keep coming back to on GenAI

🚀 What separates experimentation from real progress

🌍 How AI is changing the way learning is delivered and supported

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If you’d like to explore AI and data science programs from Fractal, including Generative AI for Business – A Leaders’ Handbook, you can find them on Coursera.org.

One of the biggest life transitions that service members face is moving on to their next career.

In this episode of The Coursera Podcast, Arunav Sinha and Anthony Salcito speak with Danielle Haro, Director of Transition Programs at the USO, about how personalized support, community, and skills-based learning help service members and military spouses navigate what comes next.

Danielle shares how the USO creates individualized action plans, helps learners overcome impostor syndrome, and leverages online learning to expand access to in-demand skills, from cybersecurity to AI literacy. Drawing on her experience as a military spouse, she reframes “readiness” as continuous growth rather than a one-time milestone.

We also cover:

🎖️ The biggest challenges of military-to-civilian transitions

🧭 How personalized action plans cut through overwhelm

🧠 Why adaptability and AI literacy matter for every role

📈 How online learning builds confidence and momentum

🤝 The role of community and mentorship in career change

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If you’d like to explore new skills, discover a career pathway, or just take the next step in your own learning journey, you can find thousands of courses and professional certificates on Coursera.org.

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Shonda Gibson and Dr. Mary Liz Brooks to explore how the Texas A&M University System is preparing students for a rapidly changing job market. Across its 11 campuses, Texas A&M is embedding industry-aligned credentials into degree programs to bridge academic learning and workforce needs—at scale.

Shonda, who leads academic transformation for the entire system, shares how a community-of-practice model has driven adoption from the ground up, allowing each campus to tailor implementation while staying aligned to a shared vision. Mary Liz brings the classroom perspective, highlighting how students are engaging with Coursera’s Career Academy to build confidence, gain real-world skills, and shape their professional identities—before graduation.

This conversation offers a powerful look at what’s possible when system-level innovation meets faculty-led experimentation, and how higher education can support student success far beyond the classroom.

We also cover:

🎓 What “career readiness” means in the age of automation and AI

🔧 How Texas A&M embedded Career Academy directly into curriculum

📊 The impact of over 20,000 learning hours and 4,700+ course completions

🌍 Strategies for equity and access across rural and urban campuses

🧩 What public universities can do to rethink ROI and lifelong learning

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Explore Coursera Career Academy and learn how institutions are embedding real-world learning into their degree programs: coursera.org/campus