Emily Glassberg Sands

Head of Data Science 
Coursera

 

Emily Glassberg Sands is Head of Data Science and Data Engineering at Coursera. Her team builds the statistical models and machine learning algorithms that power content discovery and help scale an engaging and personalized learning experience; leads the measurement, experimentation, and inference that informs Coursera's product and business strategy; and develops the analytical products and direct data access for the company’s university partners and enterprise customers.

​She holds a BA from Princeton and a PhD from Harvard, both in Economics. Her academic research blends experimentation, econometrics, and machine learning to better understand labor markets and consumer decision-making, and has been featured in the popular press including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and National Public Radio. ​

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Technical Vision Talk Abstract: "How Data Science Can Unlock Teaching & Learning at Scale"

Coursera is the world's largest platform for higher education, providing 50 million learners access to life-transforming skills and credentials. With the rich data generated as over 50 million learners engage on the platform, we have the unique opportunity to use data science and machine learning to unlock high-quality teaching and learning at scale. This talk will take you behind-the-scenes of some of our latest data products — from the personalized coaching that motivates and unblocks learners, to the algorithmic skill scores that track real-time progress against career goals, to the human-in-the-loop systems accelerating grading and student support. We’ll touch on the math, the product, the impact, and our own learnings along the way. ​