Malaysians can now gain three months of complimentary access to Coursera through the government-funded Global Learning Pass, which is offered via the Rakyat Digital portal as part of efforts to build digital and AI skills nationwide. The initiative is funded by the Ministry of Digital through MyDIGITAL Corporation, with Coursera serving as the online learning platform provider. It is open to Malaysians with a MyDigital ID, with 100,000 licences being rolled out in phases from 16 September 2026, subject to eligibility and availability.
For the uninitiated, Coursera was launched in 2012 with the aim of making world-class learning more accessible. It offers courses and professional credentials from universities and industry partners, and following its combination with fellow online learning platform Udemy in 2026, the two platforms collectively reach more than 300 million learners and over 12,000 enterprise customers worldwide.
Meanwhile, Rakyat Digital originally launched in 2024 as a centralised government learning platform offering free courses covering areas such as cybersecurity, generative AI and basic AI literacy. The platform was expanded in August this year into a digital learning hub, bringing together digital literacy resources, specialised skills training and AI-related initiatives under its Awareness, Access and Adoption framework. It now includes dedicated Digital Literacy and Digital Skills hubs, while an AI Builder allows users to explore and develop AI-enabled products.
More Than 16,000 Courses Available
Through the Global Learning Pass, participants can access more than 16,000 courses and Professional Certificate programmes covering areas such as artificial intelligence, technology, data science, business and digital literacy. These are offered by universities and industry experts from around the world.
According to MyDIGITAL, the programme comes as the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 estimates that 41% of core skills in Malaysia are expected to change by 2030. This is above the report’s global average of 39%, highlighting the need for workers to continually develop and update their skills.
The Global Learning Pass is part of the Rakyat Digital ecosystem and supports the Malaysia Digital 2030 Action Plan (MD2030) as well as the National AI Action Plan 2026–2030. MyDIGITAL says the initiative’s framework is intended to help Malaysians move from simply understanding digital technologies and AI towards applying them in their studies, careers and businesses.
It is also one of several initiatives introduced through the expanded Rakyat Digital platform. Earlier, the government announced free three-month access to selected AI tools for up to 100,000 Malaysians aged between 18 and 30, with participants required to complete several AI-related courses before receiving access.
Malaysians can register for the Global Learning Pass through the Rakyat Digital portal and begin accessing the available courses, subject to the programme’s eligibility and licence availability.
(Source: MyDIGITAL press release)
