Balancing Student Engagement With Flexibility – Forbes Advisor – Technologist

Simplilearn features an extensive array of online courses across different disciplines, including data science, AI and machine learning, project management, cybersecurity, business and leadership, and digital marketing.

The platform hosts both self-paced and live virtual classes varying in scope and intensity. Short-term training classes prepare learners for professional certifications, while immersive bootcamps help students build new skill sets to make career pivots or advancements.

Simplilearn emphasizes live instruction, which factors into 90% of the provider’s classes. The platform hosts 1,500 live classes per month and encourages student engagement through synchronous instruction, tests, virtual labs and projects. Across the platform, learners submit more than 7,000 projects each month.

In total, Simplilearn offers 70 to 80 programs, which fall into several categories:

• Master’s certificates
• Postgraduate certificates
• Exam prep, CEUs and professional certifications
• Training programs
• Bootcamps

University Partnerships

Many of Simplilearn’s programs advertise associations with industry or university partners. For example, several bootcamps are delivered in collaboration with the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), home of one of the top-ranked engineering programs in the United States.

But generally, Caltech faculty members don’t create curriculums or teach classes for Simplilearn’s Caltech-affiliated bootcamps. So what does the university association mean?

Here’s how it works. Simplilearn’s learning design team creates a curriculum and sends it to a relevant college program director to review internally. From there, Simplilearn’s team considers the director’s suggestions and makes amendments as needed. The end result is a university-approved curriculum.

So if you take Simplilearn’s Caltech coding bootcamp, for example, you’ll know your curriculum got a stamp of approval from a Caltech program director affiliated with computer programming.

These university-partnered programs help Simplilearn students access university resources without being admitted to the institution. Classes can count toward continuing education units (CEUs), and students may gain entry to the college’s alumni groups upon completion. Some bootcamps even feature campus visits at the end of the program.

Who Teaches Simplilearn Courses?

When hiring, Simplilearn looks for professionals who have teaching or industry experience. Most instructors still work in the industry, while others teach for Simplilearn full time. New teachers start off as secondary instructors and can eventually work up to leading bootcamps, which are Simplilearn’s most advanced programs.

For courses with university partners, Simplilearn hires its own course instructors but sends the instructors’ profiles to the affiliated school for review. Some Simplilearn programs include masterclasses, which are taught by faculty members from the affiliated university.

Who’s the Ideal Simplilearn Student?

Simplilearn primarily targets working professionals who want to upskill, but it also offers options for students who want to launch new careers from scratch. Learners come from a mix of technical and nontechnical backgrounds, but most have three years of experience or less. Most courses don’t require students to have relevant experience, but some recommend a bachelor’s degree or work experience.

First established in India, Simplilearn now supports students across the world. Most learners live in the U.S. and India. However, all classes are taught in English.

You can find courses across a variety of tech-focused career development courses, such as:

• Data science and business analytics
• AI and machine learning
• Cybersecurity
• Big data
• Cloud computing
• Agile and scrum

Simplilearn

Assistance

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Test Papers

12 Full-Length Simulation Test Papers

24×7 Course Assistance Service

12 Full-Length Simulation Test Papers

Simplilearn Bootcamp Scheduling

You can complete a Simplilearn bootcamp without leaving your current job. Even though the bootcamps feature live instruction, the classes typically run in the evenings from Monday through Thursday. The current AI and machine learning cohort, for example, holds classes from 8 to 11 p.m. CDT, or 6 to 9 p.m. PST. Those times might pose a challenge depending on your time zone, but the part-time structure still balances flexibility and accountability.

In terms of total time commitment, Simplilearn reps say bootcamp students should expect to attend three three-hour sessions each week. Session times include projects and labs. Instructors also hold an optional weekly office hour for students to ask questions, clarify doubts and check on their progress.

Also, you don’t need to complete every assignment or attend every session in your course to earn a certificate of completion. In trialing the Caltech coding bootcamp, I learned that you only need to attend 50% of a session to be marked as present. And you only need to be present for 80% of sessions to earn the certificate for the first module. So if something comes up and you need to skip an evening or leave early, it may not count against you.