In this episode of Tech Innovators Spotlight, host Chad Merck and co-host Lauren Hutchinson sit down with Coursera CTO Mustafa Furniturewala to explore how AI is reshaping education at a global scale. Mustafa shares why Coursera’s mission to democratize learning has kept him with the company for over a decade and discusses how the organization fosters a culture of experimentation to drive innovation. He breaks down Coursera’s rapid adoption of generative AI, the creation of Coursera Coach, new capabilities in personalized and hands-on learning, and the expansion of translated and AI-dubbed content to reach more learners worldwide.  

In This Episode You Will Learn:  

• How a decade inside Coursera has shaped Mustafa’s perspective on building at scale 
• Why core skills like cybersecurity and data fundamentals remain essential alongside AI 
• What makes offline mobile learning critical for low-connectivity regions 

Some Questions We Ask: 

• What does a culture of experimentation look like at Coursera? 
• How does Coursera think about partnerships, including Microsoft? 
• What role will Coursera play in the changing education landscape? 

Resources:      

View Mustafa Furniturewala on LinkedIn  

View Lauren Hutchinson on LinkedIn  

View Chad Merck on LinkedIn  

 Related Microsoft Podcasts:   

• Microsoft Threat Intelligence Podcast   
• Afternoon Cyber Tea with Ann Johnson   
• Microsoft Hybrid Cloud Partners Podcast   

Discover and follow other Microsoft podcasts at microsoft.com/podcasts   

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