Free IBM SkillsBuild Cybersecurity (12 cr) and Data Analytics (8 cr) Via UoPeople

[Mint Berry Crunch]

The IBM SkillsBuild Cybersecurity Certificate and IBM SkillsBuild Data Analytics Certificate are now free to the general public though a partnership between IBM and University of the People.

SkillsBuild Cybersecurity is ACE recommended for 12 undergraduate credits total: 3 lower Fundamentals of Cybersecurity, 3 upper Technology Management, 3 upper Cybersecurity Analysis, 3 upper 3 Threats and Incident Response.

SkillsBuild Data Analytics is ACE recommended for 8 undergraduate credits total: 3 upper Data Analytics I, 3 upper Decision-Making and Critical Thinking, 2 lower Statistics.

Here’s the Student Guide. Students have up to one year from the day they register for the respective certificate to complete that certificate. “If not completed within that timeframe, you will be automatically removed from the program. You may re-apply. However, your previous progress will not be saved, and you will need to restart the program from the beginning.”

To access the program, you fill out a short Application to University of the People, which will include creating a UoPeople account. In the drop-down menu for your “Academic Field/Major,” you choose “IBM SkillsBuild.” Then you choose either the Cybersecurity or the Data Analytics certificate – there’s no option here for both at once – as your choice to start first. You enter basic personal information including address and date of birth, but you are not asked questions pertaining to applying for a degree program like your academic background, transcripts, etc.

After creating your main UoPeople student account for portal.uopeople.edu, you will access the SkillsBuild course via my.uopeople.edu (Moodle). A link on my.uopeople.edu will send you to keyskill-clms.comprehend.ibm.com where the course is hosted.

Watch your Spam folder; some initial emails from different addresses at UoPeople were sorted there in my email.

Graduates receive Credly badges and are graduates of the IBM SkillsBuild certificate, not of UoPeople. Graduates are invited but under no obligation to apply to an undergraduate degree at UoPeople and then to apply to transfer the SkillsBuild credit there.

I wonder what the differences are between the same name offerings on Coursera for their "Professional Cert"s and the credits offered on there.