Microdegrees Boost Tech Learning - ERIC NIILER, Discovery News

Technology jobs are changing so fast that some believe traditional four-year degrees may be out of date by the time the college graduate starts drawing a paycheck. One firm is hoping to reverse this trend by offering “nanodegrees,” short, focused courses of study tailored the needs of individual tech firms. Silicon Valley-based Udacity was started four years ago by Sebastian Thrun, a former Google executive who kickstarted Google’s self-driving car program as well as the Google Glass wearable computer. Now he’s focused on a new platform that links the needs of tech firms with the abilities of students. Udacity offers online courses in computer-related fields like Web development, software engineering, data science and a full master’s degree in computer science from Georgia Tech. http://news.discovery.com/tech/apps/microdegrees-boost-tech-learning-150916.htm