Udacity And Lyft Team Over New Self-Driving Nanodegree Program

Udacity has announced a new 'nanodegree' program that revolves around self-driving cars, and it is available to anyone who signs up (and pays the fee, of course). The program is designed to help kick off a career in self-driving automotive technologies, though it is an introductory course and not something you're likely to get a job solely with. The course opens early next month and lasts for four months, about the length of a typical semester.

A nanodegree is what Udacity calls its courses, a nebulous term that not everyone is fond of. Regardless, the course is, in this case, truly introductory, only requiring students to know algebra and have minimal programming skills. Students will be tasked with solving problems in both C++ and Python while learning about self-driving car technology overall.

This is different from Udacity's existing Self-Driving Car Engineer Nanodegree, which itself has too many prerequisites for those interested in just getting started. That is intended for 'seasoned software engineers,' according to Udacity, and the new 'Intro to Self-Driving Cars Nanodegree' program is different.

Anyone can get in on this course as long as they have the minimal programming knowledge needed. Those who pass this course will then get 'guaranteed admission' into the bigger 'Self-Driving Car Engineer' nanodegree program.

Lyft has gotten in on this educational program; Udacity says its Lyft Level 5 Engineering Center has partnered with the nanodegree program. For its part, Lyft is funding 400 scholarships for the intro program over the course of the next year. Those interested in signing up can do so here.

SOURCE: Udacity Blog