Udacity and Tencent WeChat are launching a new free course to teach developers around the world how to create their own mini-programs on WeChat, the most popular messaging app among Chinese consumers. This is the online education platform’s latest effort to teach students the skills to build “mini-programs” on the WeChat platform.
Developed by Tencent in 2011, WeChat is a multi-function mobile communications application. Among WeChat’s most disruptive capabilities are its “WeChat Mini Programs,” sub-applications within the WeChat ecosystem. And with more than one billion active monthly users in China, WeChat’s importance is almost impossible to overestimate.
The brand new English “WeChat Mini Program Development” is a free course that is made up of 6 lessons and is intended to take 4 weeks to complete. Aspiring developers from all over the world will gain skills to build “mini-programs” on the WeChat platform and to become professional Mini Program Developers.
“WeChat mini programs are an essential part of the Chinese user experience,” Tencent WeChat team said. “Our partnership with Udacity is offering a great way of teaching engineers around the world how to enter the Chinese market.”
“This is an opportunity to reach a massive audience,” said Sebastian Thrun, Founder and Executive Chairman at Udacity. “With everyone from McDonald’s, Nike, Tesla to Google releasing Mini Programs, the opportunity and demand for WeChat Mini Program Developers is incredible.”
Udacity first partnered with Tencent in 2018 to build its Chinese-language WeChat Nanodegree Program, a first effort to teach students the skills to build “mini-programs.” Since then, more than 2500+ students in China have benefitted from this program.
This update makes the WeChat ecosystem globally accessible, and we’ve again worked directly with the WeChat experts at Tencent to ensure that students learn the very latest skills to build WeChat apps.
Later this year, Tencent will also be holding a WeChat Developer Challenge, and it is open to all developer agencies, code houses, and startups who complete Udacity’s WeChat Mini Program Development Free Course. The WeChat Developer Challenge is a two-step operation starting with a one-month virtual development phase, followed by a 2-day event to develop relevant WeChat Mini Programs for services addressing the needs of Chinese travelers in Southeast Asia.
About Tencent
Founded in 1998, Tencent is a leading provider of Internet value-added services in China and globally. On June 16, 2004, Tencent Holdings Limited (SEHK 700) went public on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It is Tencent’s mission to enhance the quality of human life through Internet services. Tencent’s leading Internet platforms in China – QQ (QQ Instant Messenger), WeChat, QQ.com, QQ Games, Qzone, and Tenpay – have brought together China’s largest Internet community, to meet the various needs of Internet users including communication, information, entertainment, financial services, and others.
