Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Offering New Online Courses For Developers

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has introduced a pair of new online courses aimed at serving the growing demand for newer technologies. One of the courses focuses on the booming areas of artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Techcrunch has the news on Microsoft’s new offerings.

Microsoft today launched two new courses in its online education program for developers: an entry-level software development class and an AI course for more advanced developers who want to expand their knowledge of machine learning.
It’s no secret that there aren’t enough data scientists and machine learning developers available to fulfill the current demand. It’s no surprise, then, that a number of large companies have started to teach the fundamentals of these disciplines to their existing employees; starting today, anybody can take the AI courses that Microsoft first developed for its own employees.

The AI course, known as the Microsoft Professional Program for Artificial Intelligence, is available for free to developers on edX.org, but there’s also an option for students to pay for an actual certificate. While the course is noted as being mainly agnostic to specific environments, there is a focus on Azure and Microsoft’s Cognitive Services.

The other new offering will also appear on edX, and it’s aimed at entry-level software developers with a focus on JavaScript and Python.

Microsoft Corporation shares fell $1.65 (-1.84%) in premarket trading Wednesday. Year-to-date, MSFT has gained 3.56%, versus a -3.22% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

MSFT currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of B (Buy), and is ranked #9 of 65 stocks in the Software – Application category.