upGrad Free Online Courses: Upskill with upGrad’s Lifelong Learning Initiative!

We, at upGrad, have always strived to bring you the best of learning experiences that you can enjoy from the comfort of your home. Right now, as each one of us continues to grapple with the harsh realities of the pandemic, we’ve all realized one thing – life goes on. And so should learning! 

This is why we’ve come up with a unique learning initiative to help you stay on track and prepare you for life after the pandemic – by providing ten short upGrad free courses through the ‘Lifelong Learning’ initiative.  

What is upGrad’s Lifelong Learning initiative?

upGrad’s Lifelong Learning is a learning initiative exclusively designed to help fast track your career growth by helping you upskill in a span of two to four weeks. Yes, all you need is to dedicate two to four weeks of your time to learn new skills with upGrad! Since the pandemic has kept us all in confinement, now is the perfect time to enhance and upgrade your skillset. 

Our Lifelong Learning initiative includes upGrad courses under Data Science, Management, and Technology. The best part – all the courses are absolutely FREE OF COST!

If you want to steer away from the commotion and uncertainty of the pandemic and focus on learning new skills, upGrad free courses through the Lifelong Learning initiative is just what you need!

Key benefits of upGrad’s Lifelong Learning initiative

• Learn new industry skills with ten different programs for FREE!
• Get access to all ten programs to explore your choices and choose the best fit for you.
• These programs have been designed in collaboration with leading industry experts.
• Expand your knowledge base, improve your skills, and gain a competitive edge over your peers.  
• Earn a Certificate of Completion on completing all the Content Modules for any program of your choice.

Program details

• The initiative includes ten programs having 350+ hours of cutting-edge content across domains like Data Science, Technology, and Management. 
• All programs focus on imparting knowledge of the hottest trends and skills in the present industry.
• All programs are short-term courses that span anywhere between two to six weeks.
• All programs include live sessions and discussion forums to impart an interactive learning experience to candidates.
• All programs are accompanied by a Certificate of Completion (an excellent way to amp up your resume!). 

Now that you know what upGrad’s Lifelong Learning initiative is about, let’s dive into the details!

Lifelong Learning Initiative – List of Free upGrad Courses

As mentioned earlier, the Lifelong Learning initiative is divided into three broad categories – Data Science, Technology, and Management. While the Data Science and Technology domains each include four courses, there are two courses under Management. 

Data Science

1. Python for Data Science

Python is a favourite among the developer and Data Science communities. It’s English-like syntax, and an easy learning curve is what makes Python one of the most extensively used programming languages in the world. 

This course will walk you through a step-by-step on Python and its fundamentals, including lists, strings, and data structures – all from Python’s coding perspective. The course will also introduce you to some of the most popular Python libraries such as NumPy, Pandas, and Matplotlib.

Last but not least, you will learn Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA) in Python, which will help you understand datasets and how to extract relevant insights from them – a pivotal aspect of Machine Learning.

This course implies that data scientists must manage the level of access to be provided to data for an organization’s employees. The reason is that a significant amount of data can be exploited in an organization.

The access to the data and resources in the organization must be limited considering an employee’s role. This course helps you to develop an auto-access model that would minimize the human involvement needed to grant or cancel access to the employee. Moreover, it would be accomplished automatically.

It is one of those upGrad free courses that emphasize computer science and statistics as integral elements of data science. When it comes to a prerequisite, you need to know the fundamentals of programming and linear algebra.

Its learning path assumes that you are coding in Python. The good news is that this programming language is easy to learn, specifically for beginners who have never programmed earlier. Moreover, its syntax is intuitive and involves a narrow learning curve.

2. Introduction to Machine Learning Concepts

Need we tell you that Machine Learning is one of the brightest stars in the present industry? Businesses and organizations across all parallels of the industry are leveraging ML tools and technologies to create innovative products that have already changed our lives radically. 

This is an introductory ML course that will teach you about the three core concepts of Machine Learning – Logistic Regression, Linear Regression, and Clustering. While Logistic Regression is an ML technique for binary classification of factors, Linear Regression in machine learning helps determine the strength of the association between one dependent variable and multiple independent variables.

Another exciting component of this course is Recommendation Systems, which is used by giants like Netflix and Amazon. This module will teach you the inner functionings of the algorithms that fuel the recommendation engines of e-commerce sites.

Machine learning and predictive modeling are two of the most significant parts of data science. These parts make the data-driven systems more intelligent. Machine Learning involves a steep learning curve.  But this course helps you to learn it easily. It explains how Python’s Scikit-Learn library extracts all the details of leading Machine Learning Algorithms and simplifies training models by easy coding.

You must know the basic logic of the algorithm. It helps you ensure you are using the correct algorithm for the correct problem and parameters. You must have a decent knowledge of linear algebra to understand the algorithms and logic in machine learning. This course is entirely focused on machine learning. It uses open-source and free programming languages like R, Python, Octave, etc.

It is one of the best upGrad free courses for learning machine learning because it provides enough useful materials. It includes hands-on assignments to help you effectively learn all essential aspects of machine learning. The text tutorials and videos are insufficient for learning these concepts. So, this course includes practice assignments for a thorough learning experience.

It explains to students the working of machine learning-related algorithms. Its mathematical working is essential to understand the applications as well as developing programs to solve real-life problems.

Professionals and students who want to pursue machine learning courses may have their jobs and classes running alongside them. Hence, it is better if the course is on-demand and self-paced. This upGrad machine learning course fulfills both these aspects.

The experienced instructors teach from practical industry examples so that students can easily relate the topics to real life. You must add this course to your upGrad free courses list because it provides you with placement support from upGrad. You benefit from a career mentor and a personal student success mentor for comprehensive learning support. Moreover, this course unlocks your access to worldwide job opportunities. So, it is one of the best upGrad free courses for your career advancement.

Note that machine learning is a continuously evolving field with new techniques and applications introduced frequently. You can read articles and research papers about your topic of interest in machine learning.

Also Read: Short Term Job Oriented Courses

3. Introduction to Deep Learning and Natural Language Processing

A subset of Machine Learning, Deep Learning has emerged to be a highly valued technology, especially when it comes to decoding the multiple levels of representation of natural human languages. Deep Learning architectures and algorithms have taken Natural Language Processing (NLP) to a whole new level. Today, Deep Learning, along with NLP, has found applications in numerous fields, like speech processing, image recognition, machine translation, and dialogue generation, to name a few.

In this course, the foremost focus is on building a solid foundation in Mathematics. You will learn how to apply different Mathematical concepts, tools, and techniques that are a must for understanding the concepts in Deep Learning and Natural Language Processing. After you’ve successfully attained the requisite Mathematical knowledge, you will learn the fundamentals of Neural Networks and different Deep Learning algorithms.

In the last module, you will learn the basics of NLP. The most exciting part about this course is that you will work on a Deep Learning project and use regex to build tools for spell correction, phonetic hashing, and spam detector.

This course is useful for beginners because it explains how deep learning passes information through each layer. It clears the basic concepts of deep learning. It explains how deep learning powers various artificial intelligence services and applications competent for improving automation, analytical and physical tasks without manual interference.  Moreover, it highlights the importance of deep learning for powering everyday services and products like digital assistants, TV remotes, self-driving cars, etc.

Some of the key modules included are Data Science Tool Kit, Statistics, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning. This course must be prioritized on your upGrad free courses list because it teaches both theoretical and practical concepts. It helps learners to work on various case studies, industry projects, and assignments. The students obtain placement assistance after completion.

It not only teaches the fundamentals of NLP and deep learning. It also trains you on how to work with tools like Pandas, Python, NLTK, Numpy, Excel, and MySQL.  The students get more practical exposure with the help of included case studies and industry projects. Moreover, students obtain placement assistance and mentorship from expert instructors. Hence, it is one of the recommended upGrad free courses with certificate online.

4. Business Analytics Starter Pack

Today, individuals, businesses, and organizations are churning vast volumes of data every second. However, data is of no use unless it’s processed, analyzed, and interpreted, thus, uncovering all the meaningful insights that are hidden within. Business Analytics is what gives shape to the extracted insights and transforms them into actionable business ideas and decisions. Companies across the globe are leveraging Business Analytics (BA) to boost productivity, increase cost efficiency, foster data-driven strategies, and improve customer satisfaction.

This course familiarizes you with the use of business analytics in providing customized fitness routines, booking movie tickets online, forecasting an e-commerce store’s revenue, etc. It aims to acquaint students with the usefulness of business analytics in different industries.

It teaches you how to spot growth opportunities, optimize and enhance an organization’s business processes. You will learn the usefulness of business analytics in various business domains like supply chain management, customer service, global trade practices, etc. You must include this course in your upGrad free courses list if you want to enhance your career graph with a decent salary.

You can flexibly choose different career paths after completing this course. Learning business analytics through this course provides insights into creating a project’s initial framework. It helps you to explore the business requisites and identify the solutions to business issues. It trains students on how to discern business solutions without worrying about the funds. It is one of the best upGrad free courses with certificate online for both beginners aiming to land a great career in this domain.

It helps you to build an impressive resume by teaching the required technical and soft skills. It, therefore, lets you access tons of career opportunities. It prepares you for relevant job roles in this competitive market.

Our Business Analytics course includes everything you need to know about the concept. You will learn the connotations of the common BA buzzwords and how to use analytics to make informed business decisions to achieve short-term and long-term goals. Also, you will explore the power of Excel and learn Excel-based EDA techniques to best highlight crucial data insights.

The course takes a stepwise approach to teach you what constitutes a business problem and how to build hypotheses around it. By the end of the course, you will not only know how to analyze data patterns, but you will also be able to narrate those insights in a business-centric manner. 

Also Read: Short Term Job Oriented Courses

Technology

5. Introduction to Blockchain 

Blockchain has come a long way since Bitcoin, and today, it has become a mainstream technology. The decentralized and immutable ledger is now the backbone of numerous applications in BFSI, healthcare, supply chain management, pharmaceuticals, and jewelry, to name a few. Naturally, the demand for skilled and qualified Blockchain experts is at an all-time high. In such a scenario, it pays (in hefty amounts!) well to have Blockchain skills.  

This Blockchain course has two modules that you can finish in just two weeks! The first module will acquaint you with the basic concepts of Blockchain technology and highlight how it is different from the existing legacy systems. The second module focuses on Smart Contracts, its features, and the various use-cases of Blockchain.

It helps you to begin your future-proof blockchain journey. It aims to make crypto and blockchain knowledge easily accessible. It is meticulously curated under the guidance of experienced industry experts. It explains blockchain concepts using real-time projects. This aspect benefits students with an authentic and effective learning experience. You also obtain certification to strengthen your resume because you can confidently showcase your blockchain skills and knowledge. Hence, it is one of the finest upGrad free courses with certificate online for exploring great job opportunities.

6. Blockchain Development with Ethereum

Ethereum is an open-source, Blockchain-based, decentralized computing platform and operating system rolled into one. It is primarily used for developing and running Smart Contracts and Distributed Applications (DApps) without any downtime or third-party interference. It is one of the most extensively used Blockchain platforms right now.

While our previous Blockchain course was an introduction to Blockchain technology and its uses, the highlight of this course of Ethereum. In this course, you will learn more about Smart Contracts, and you will learn how to create them and deploy them.

7. Getting started with Java Programming

Like Python, Java is another popular programming language used by developers and Data Science professionals worldwide. It is a class-based and object-oriented, general-purpose programming language. Java is a simple language that is platform-independent, dynamically-typed, and supports multithreading – no surprise why developers love it!

Our Java course is divided into five modules. While the first module teaches you about the different data types in Java and the concept of variables in Java programming, the second module focuses on conditional statements, loops, and functions in Java.

The third module will expand on the fundamentals of object-oriented analysis and design, and in the fourth module, you will learn about the framework of classes and objects and also the two core OOP – Abstraction & Encapsulation. The final module will teach the concept of code reusability by using the other two OOP principles – Inheritance and Polymorphism.

8. Getting Started with Frontend Development

The growing importance of Web Development in the digital world has made the role of Frontend Developers a highly promising and lucrative career choice. As an increasing number of enterprises join the online bandwagon, the demand for skilled Frontend Developers is skyrocketing. To add to that, Front-end Developers draw hefty annual salaries. The role offers plenty of flexibility (you can even work as a self-employed or freelance Frontend Developer) and scope for creativity. 

This course on Frontend Development is a four-week long program containing two modules. The first module will teach the fundamental concepts of Frontend Development, including variables, data types, conditionals, loops, arrays, objects, and functions in JavaScript. The second module will introduce you to intermediate concepts like scope, closures, hoisting, prototype, and advanced concepts (for example, asynchronous nature, callbacks, promises, async, etc.) in JavaScript.

Management

9. Management Essentials

In the present competitive market, it is not enough to only have educational qualifications and skills. You must also have the requisite management skills and knowledge to stay ahead of the competitive curve. 

This is a general introductory course on the management essentials. The course consists of three modules. The first one is a masterclass on communication where you’ll learn how to present your ideas, negotiate, and persuade clients. The second module is a marketing masterclass that will teach you the basics of marketing strategies. In the third module, you will learn how to apply different economics concepts in day to day situations.

10. Getting Started with Digital Marketing

The inclusion of Digital Marketing into the marketing domain has drastically transformed the whole marketing world. Today, companies and enterprises can no longer only rely on traditional marketing practices – anyone who wishes to catch the eye of the people, must adopt Digital Marketing. The presence of digital and social media platforms in our daily lives is so strong now that brands have to migrate to the online world to capture a major chunk of their target audience. In other words, there’s no getting away from Digital Marketing!

Our Digital Marketing program is a comprehensive course that includes six modules – Fundamentals of Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, Email Marketing, and Web Analytics. In five weeks, you will gain an in-depth understanding of marketing and how it helps a business to thrive amid the cut-throat competition.

Also, you will learn how to design a well-structured social media strategy and SEO strategy and implement them. Apart from this, you will learn how to collect relevant business data and transform raw data into actionable business insights. 

What to do next?

All the free upGrad courses under the Lifelong Learning initiative have been crafted in collaboration with leading industry experts. As always, like all upGrad offerings, these courses will be taught by best-in-class instructors.

So, how about upskilling with upGrad’s Lifelong Learning initiative?

Say YES and register now!