YouTube invests an additional US$20m into educational content initiative

YouTube has invested an additional US$20 million into its YouTube Learning initiative which supports its creators focused on creating educational content. The move comes on the back of the initiative’s launch in July.Following the move, YouTube has also unveiled additional steps it will be taking, such as a new learning fund for videos covering topics such as career skills such as interviewing and resume building, to computer science, such as coding for game development and JavaScript basics.In addition to investing via the learning fund, YouTube said in a blog post that it is develop new YouTube Originals which are focused on learning. Examples include Mind Field: Season 3 from Vsauce creator Michael Stevens, and a new series with Vox Entertainment. This follows its initial round of investment in shows such as TED-Ed or Hank and John Green’s Crash Course. YouTube added that it is also supporting emerging creators such as Socratica and Linda Raynier.New learning partnershipsTo make finding learning content easier on YouTube, the video platform is also launching a new channel called Learning, which will see major partners such Goodwill and Year Up contributing curated playlists highlighting videos that teach career skills. The channel looks to increase ease for users in finding tutorials, DIY videos, explainers, and skill-based playlists.YouTube has also partnered with online learning platforms such as edX, a non-profit organisation offering courses from the universities and institutions. It also partnered OpenClassrooms, an education platform based in France for video content.The video giant will also be expanding its YouTube EduCon conferences to Europe and Asia, starting with India in December and UK in February. This was after it held the conferences in California, Mexico, and Brazil to connect “EduTubers” with new resources and each other this year.In 2019, YouTube plans to provide more resources to aspiring education creators such as its Creator Academy course for educational channels, and its new Learning Best Practices. Other initiatives include hosting a NextUp creator camp specifically for emerging EduTubers and working to connect EduTubers with brand partners through FameBit.“We have already secured investments for sponsored content specifically for the EduTuber community,” the blog post added.YouTube Learning was launched in July this year, offering grants and promotion to support education-focused content creators, expert organisations and learners. At the time, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said the company is also expanding its learning content team efforts and has a nearly dedicated product and engineering team working on building features for learning on YouTube.Read also:YouTube shortens video attribution criteria for action adsYouTube’s latest ad extensions feature: Pros and cons marketers should considerYouTube launches new ad formats to enable better video storytellingYouTube closes gaming app, shifts content to main platformYouTube vertical ads: What should your approach be?YouTube adds more non-skippable ad opportunities for creators