In May 2023, Professor Jules White released his first generative AI online course using the Coursera platform: Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT. In the next 18 months, the university’s partnership with Coursera expanded significantly, and Vanderbilt added 13 more courses and seven “specializations.”
The Coursera content has proven popular. More than 327,000 learners have enrolled in the prompt engineering course alone, and 500,000 in total across all related courses—generating more than $1 million dollars in revenue in the first quarter of 2023.
In September 2024, Jules White, senior advisor to the chancellor on generative AI and computer science professor, received Coursera’s Innovation Award at their 12th annual conference. The award recognized his “rapid work on adoption of cutting-edge technology” through his prompt engineering course.
White credited Vanderbilt’s collaborative culture for the program’s success, noting among others, his partnership with Mark Williams, professor of practice in law and co-director of the Vanderbilt AI Law Lab, to develop the Generative AI for Legal Services Primer course and subsequent Coursera specialization.
The Vanderbilt collection of Coursera generative AI courses is available free of charge to Vanderbilt faculty, students and staff.