Adobe to invest a whopping $100 million in global AI education

Adobe has announced a new global initiative aimed at equipping 30 million learners worldwide with skills in AI literacy, content creation, and digital marketing by 2030.

The programme expands on the current Adobe Digital Academy and seeks to provide training, certifications, and pathways to careers for emerging professionals globally. Adobe has partnered with education platforms, NGOs, and educational institutions such as Coursera, K-12 schools, colleges, and universities to facilitate access to this programme.

The company has committed over USD $100 million this year in donations, scholarships, product access, and partnerships to support this initiative and enable learners from diverse backgrounds to thrive in the workforce.

Stacy Martinet, Vice President of Marketing Strategy and Communications at Adobe, commented, "Adobe's mission has always been to design products that create opportunities and empower people from all backgrounds to change the world. We want AI to bridge the digital divide, not widen it, and this program will open doors for emerging professionals to succeed in the future workforce with AI literacy, content creation, and marketing skills."

The initiative will focus on developing curricula that cover topics such as Generative AI Content Creation, Creative & AI Skills, Social Media Content, Multimedia Content, Content Marketing, and Multi-channel Content and Advertising.

Adobe Express will be used to help learners develop high-quality content creation skills, with a focus on leveraging generative AI responsibly and ethically.

Educational content is now available globally on Coursera, offering learners the chance to pursue professional certificates as Content Creators and Graphic Designers. A Digital Marketing certificate is also planned for early 2025. Additionally, Adobe will contribute USD $250,000 in scholarship licenses distributed through nonprofits to help learners access these courses and certificates.

Adobe's expansion includes new donations to youth-serving NGOs such as DECA, NPower, Build.org, the Prince's Trust, AVID, Girl Scouts of Western Washington, and Pratham. This support is aimed at integrating vital workplace skills into extracurricular activities for millions of students served by these NGOs.

Christopher Young, Chief Program Officer at DECA stated, "Adobe is the ideal partner for DECA as we amplify our quest to prepare students for college and careers."

"This initiative will empower our student members to learn and apply the creative skills they need for their future careers in marketing and business. Adobe Express is the perfect tool for DECA students to apply their creativity and experiment with AI to create content relevant to preparing for their careers."

As part of creating pathways to potential careers, Adobe is also expanding its collaboration with General Assembly to develop bootcamps focusing on marketing and content creation.

These bootcamps will provide free access to training and career resources and begin with a U.S. cohort in November, with additional cohorts in the U.K. and India in January 2025. The bootcamps are fully sponsored by Adobe, ensuring no cost to participants.