1.1 Definition and Introduction

E-learning, or digital learning, is a learning method through online platforms and services. E-learning is used for personal and/or professional training. There are three main categories of e-learning :

MOOCs (Massive Online Open Courses) are generally free open access courses; upon completion, participants can obtain certifications
SPOCs (Small Private Online Courses) are similar to MOOCs, but are fee-based. In fact, their access is limited to specific users, such as university students. They can also be used to obtain certifications.
COOCs (Corporate Open Online Courses) are used by companies to train their employees.

E-learning is linked to the vocational training and education sectors. The methodology democratizes access to training, as it allows flexibility in education and access to all users with an Internet connection, regardless of their location.

The digital learning market in Portugal is still quite small, but its growth prospects are quite promising; currently, 84.5% of the Portuguese households are connected to the internet, a proportion that is expected to keep on growing at a steady rate. Moreover, computer use in Portugal is also increasing among families. These aspects make the Portuguese e-learning market quite a promising one.

The Covid-19 pandemic also served as a boost to the e-learning market in Portugal, with the percentage of people using the internet for undertaking online courses more than doubling between 2019 and 2020.

In regards to the platforms being used, the main players are the international platforms such as Coursera or Udemy. However, Portuguese platforms are slowly emerging. While some of these e-learning platforms are independent, most of them tend to be associated to education institutions.

The still embrionic development of the market and the low barriers to entry could, however, encourage the emergence of new players in this market.

1.2 The global market

In **** the global e-learning market was valued at *** billion dollars. This market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (***) of **.*% to reach a size of *** billion dollars by ****.

Global e-learning market World, ****-****, in billions of dollars Source: ****

The COVID-** pandemic has created massive potential and opportunity in ...

1.3 The growing Portuguese market

As seen in the previous section (***) of this study, Europe is the world's largest market for e-learning, accounting for **% of its share in **** for a total of ** billion euros. In Portugal, it is estimated that **% of the population was using e-learning platforms in **** - or *.* million people [***].

To calculate the size ...

1.4 The impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic

The COVID-** pandemic and the resulting lockdowns hurt many economic sectors. Understandably, the e-learning market is one that benefited. With offices and schools closed all types of activity, instruction and work had to be done online.

In fact, statistics provided by Eurostat show that the number of people undertaking online courses ...

2.1 Determinants of demand

There are three major factors that are crucial to e-learning: Internet connectivity, ownership of a device, and technical competencies.

Internet connectivity

The number of households that are connected to the internet in Portugal has been growing very strongly over the last * decades. In fact, the percentage of households connected to the ...

2.2 Growing demand for e-learning

In Portugal, the amount of people using internet for doing an online course had been growing very slowly up until ****. However, the Covid-** pandemic boosted this and the amount of people doing online courses more than doubled; *% in **** vs. **% in **** [***].

People using the internet for online courses Portugal, ****-****, in % total ...

2.3 Portuguese behaviour towards e-learning

Following from the crisis caused by the Covid-** pandemic, the e-learning sector actually managed to thrive from it, as demand for these types of services increased. A study by Fixando in **** shows just how popular e-learning platforms are in Portugal.

First of all, it is important to note that **% of the ...

3.1 The international players

Given the global reach of the e-learning market, a very important part of the Portuguese market can be attributed to international players. Among these players, we can note the following platforms:

Source: ****

Most of these e-learning platforms (***) offer courses in Portuguese, making it accessible for people that potentially do not speak ...

3.2 The players specialised in Portugal

While the international players make up the largest share of the online courses being undertaken in Portugal, there are still some domestic players that participate in this market.

For the Portuguese players, many of the courses offered are by universities and education institutions. However, there is a fair share of courses ...

4.1 The e-learning offer

When deciding between different platforms to use for undertaking online courses, people need to consider different aspects of the offer. Below are some of the aspects [***]:

Quality of the course provider That the course is in line with the person's objectives How applicable/useful the knowledge gained from the course will ...

4.2 Prices and production costs

The price of e-learning courses can vary enormously, from a free video to a tailor-made course ordered by a large company.

In the educational environment, when schools, colleges, and high schools integrate e-learning activities into their curricula, this does not generate additional costs for parents.

Academic environment

Concerning e-learning offered by ...

4.3 New trends in e-learning

Measurability

Training is no longer being considered unrelated to corporate objectives. The tools for evaluating it and measuring its actual impact on the business are already very important today and will become increasingly important in the coming years.

*G

*G will consolidate what is already happening with *G, i.e. ...

5.1 Regulations

To understand the regulations that govern the e-learning activity in Portugal, we use the information provided by the Panorama E-learning.

The information gathering exercise carried out for the national reality has made it possible to identify a reduced number of normative instruments in which the matters covered include the regulation of ...