JetBrains has launched a new initiative aimed at helping programming educators give learners more practical coding experience by integrating hands-on exercises directly into professional software development environments.

The newly announced JetBrains Course Creators Program is designed for independent educators and online course creators who teach programming, software development and related technical subjects. Through the initiative, instructors can embed practical coding activities into JetBrains integrated development environments (IDEs) using the JetBrains Academy plugin, allowing students to work in the same professional tools widely used by software developers.

The company says the move addresses a common challenge in online programming education, where many learners gain theoretical knowledge through video lessons and browser-based exercises but have limited opportunities to develop skills in real-world development environments.

As artificial intelligence continues to reshape software development, JetBrains believes practical experience is becoming increasingly important. Beyond learning programming concepts, students are expected to understand software projects, debug applications, collaborate with AI-assisted tools and build solutions using professional workflows.

The Course Creators Program enables educators to incorporate coding exercises that allow students to write, run and debug code within JetBrains IDEs, helping bridge the gap between learning and workplace practice.

The initiative is open to educators who publish programming courses on platforms such as Udemy, Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, Pluralsight and edX, as well as those who operate their own learning platforms or teach technical subjects independently.

Participants in the program will receive access to JetBrains products, technical support, promotional opportunities and collaboration resources to help integrate professional coding environments into their courses.

JetBrains also offers direct integration with Coursera, enabling students to open coding projects in a JetBrains IDE with a single click and complete assignments while automatically syncing their progress.

According to the company, most course creators are able to complete the integration process within two to four weeks. Educators who are not yet ready for full integration can also explore alternative collaboration options, including recommending JetBrains’ free IDEs for learners, accessing educational licence coupons and incorporating JetBrains tools into course materials.

Applications for the program are now open. Educators interested in participating can contact JetBrains at education@jetbrains.com for further information.