One boring afternoon, I was doing what I usually do when I have nothing better to do: doom-scrolling through social media. Then I came across a few posts on LinkedIn and Threads about free AI and cybersecurity courses offered through the ASEAN Digital Academy. Apparently, completing the program could also get you 12 months of LinkedIn Premium.
That caught my interest. I wanted to learn something new anyway, and the possibility of getting a free Premium account was a nice bonus. So, why not give it a try?
What Is ASEAN Digital Academy? #
You can find the platform here: https://ada.aseanfoundation.org/
According to its website, the ASEAN Digital Academy aims to help young people across ASEAN develop essential digital skills and prepare for the future of our increasingly connected world.
The platform offers three main learning paths: ASEAN Ahead, Cyber Security, and Digital Literacy. For this time, I decided to focus on ASEAN Ahead and Cyber Security.
The learning process itself is pretty straightforward. You take a pre-test, watch the videos, read the learning materials, and complete a post-test. I'd also recommend downloading the materials so you can revisit them later. They're useful to have around, especially when you want to refresh your memory.
ASEAN Ahead #
Course link: https://ada.aseanfoundation.org/asean-ahead
ASEAN Ahead focuses on using AI to support your career development and job search. The course covers five main areas, including figuring out your career direction, improving your LinkedIn profile and personal brand, finding job opportunities, building a CV and portfolio, and preparing for interviews.
It's designed for university students, TVET students, and young people across ASEAN who are not currently in education, employment, or training.
The course is self-paced, so you can work through it whenever you have some free time. It also includes short videos, practical exercises, and examples related to the ASEAN job market.
I found the career-focused approach interesting because AI isn't just something to learn about for technical purposes. It can also be useful for everyday things like preparing job applications, improving your professional profile, and getting ready for interviews.
Cyber Security #
Course link: https://ada.aseanfoundation.org/cyber-security
Since I'm also interested in cybersecurity, I decided to take this learning path as well.
It consists of three courses:
- Microsoft's Guide to a Secure Digital World
- Digital Safety Awareness & Cyber Hygiene
- Technical Prevention & Incident Response
According to the program, the goal is to help young people across ASEAN develop practical cybersecurity skills, recognize threats, protect their digital lives, and respond to cybercrime.
Personally, I found these courses more challenging than ASEAN Ahead. The material goes deeper into technical topics and introduces more cybersecurity terminology, so I had to spend more time reading and understanding the content.
Still, that's part of the reason I wanted to take these courses in the first place. There's always something new to learn in cybersecurity, and going back to the fundamentals is never a bad idea.
Two Certificates and a Nice Bonus #
After working through the materials and completing the assessments, I finally finished both learning paths and earned their completion certificates.
And the best part? I also managed to get the 12-month LinkedIn Premium account.
Yippee!
From what I saw, the offer had limited availability, so I'm glad I managed to get it in time. The certificates were already a good outcome, and getting a year of LinkedIn Premium on top of that was a nice bonus.
Overall, I'm glad I came across the program while scrolling through social media that afternoon. What started as a random find turned into an opportunity to learn something new, earn a couple of certificates, and get a little extra out of it.
Not a bad way to spend a boring afternoon, right?