Labs (Udemy Business Pro)

This article provides answers to frequently asked questions regarding in-course and project-based labs. 

Table of Contents

• What are labs?
• What are in-course labs?
• What are project-based labs?
• Who can access labs and workspaces?
• What should a learner do if they don’t have access to the in-course lab workspace?
• How will an org admin know when an employee has requested a Pro license?
• Is the in-course lab content available in multiple languages?
• Are project-based labs available in multiple languages?
• How can learners find courses with in-course labs?
• How can learners find standalone, project-based labs?
• Will learners need to enter additional credentials to log into the workspace from the in-course lab?
• Can learners pause, leave, or resume work in a lab?
• Can learners check their task solutions?
• How long are the workspace sessions?
• Which topics will in-course and project-based labs be available for?
• Will learners need to enter additional credentials to log into the workspace from the in-course lab?
• Will labs be available for non-technical courses?

What are labs?

Labs are hands-on learning experiences that give learners the opportunity to put knowledge into action. By working through tasks or projects in a technical workspace, users move beyond theory to real application. Each lab also includes access to a dedicated companion workspace, providing a safe, risk-free environment where users can practice and refine their skills at their own pace. 

• Learn more about labs and workspaces.

What are in-course labs?

In-course labs are practice experiences created by the course instructor and are embedded directly into a Udemy course and completed in secure, pre-configured environments.

With in-course labs, learners get:

• Seamless video-to-lab integration that helps connect theory with practice.
• Real-time practice of lab lessons using secure tailor-made workspaces.
• AI-guided feedback on lab tasks to validate solutions, accelerate learning, and build confidence in job-ready skills.
• Resource assets like sample datasets, setup instructions, and documentation to support learning.

Learn more about in-course labs.

What are project-based labs?

Project-based labs are standalone learning experiences where learners apply their skills by completing authentic, real-world projects in a companion workspace. Developed by subject matter experts, these labs provide practice opportunities outside the standard course experience.

With project-based labs:

• Projects are framed in the context of real-world scenarios.
• Modes allow learners to choose what level of guidance they want to receive while completing a project.
• Automated Lab Review (ALR), available in Guided Challenge mode for select labs, provides learners with real-time, specific, and actionable feedback on their work.

Learn more about project-based labs.

Who can access labs and workspaces?

Access is dependent on plan type:

• Learners with a Udemy Business Pro Add-on license can access in-course and project-based labs and their companion workspaces.
• Learners with a Udemy Business Enterprise license can watch in-course lab instructions and view lab tasks, but accessing the companion workspace requires a Pro Add-on. Learners without the Pro Add-on may request access from their admin.
• Learners with a Team Plan license can also watch the in-course lab instructions, and see the lab tasks, but can't access the companion workspace. To access the workspace and standalone lab projects, organizations on a Team Plan would need to upgrade to Udemy Business Enterprise and purchase the Pro add-on.

What should a learner do if they don’t have access to the in-course lab workspace?

When a learner without a Pro license is in a course with a lab, they'll be blocked from accessing the lab workspace and will see a message explaining that an enhanced license is required. 

To raise interest to their org admin, they simply click the Send upgrade request button in the message. The admin can either automatically or manually assign them a Pro license.

• Learn more about assigning Pro licenses.

How will an org admin know when an employee has requested a Pro license?

An admin can manage and track Pro license requests from the Manage users section of the Admin dashboard. Admins can also see the status of the request, including if a Pro license has been assigned or if the request is pending, the source of the request, and the request date. 

• Learn more about managing Pro licenses. 

Is the in-course lab content available in multiple languages?

Yes, instructors can create labs for their courses in the language of their choice. 

Are project-based labs available in multiple languages?

No, standalone lab projects are only available in English.

How can learners find courses with in-course labs?

Learners with a Udemy Business license can use the Labs filter under the courses search to find courses that include integrated labs. The results won't surface standalone lab projects.

How can learners find standalone, project-based labs?

To find lab projects, learners with a Pro license can navigate to the Explore menu, click on Labs ,then enter a topic in the labs landing page or use feature filters to narrow results.

• Learn more about lab projects.

Will learners need to enter additional credentials to log into the workspace from the in-course lab?

In most cases, learners can access a lab’s secure workspace without entering credentials. The exceptions are companion workspaces for Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform labs, which require learners to enter Udemy-provided credentials. 

Can learners pause, leave, or resume work in a lab?

In in-course labs, learners can't pause or resume a workspace once it has started. If they leave before finishing, the workspace will close, and their work won’t be saved. When they return, they’ll restart the lab in a fresh workspace from the beginning. 

In project-based labs, learners can pause the workspace and return later without losing progress, as long as they are within the workspace’s time limit.

Can learners check their task solutions?

Yes, learners can use the Udemy AI Assistant feature, AI task review, to receive feedback on their task solution. Learn more about using this feature.

How long are the workspace sessions?

In in-course labs, each workspace session lasts 60 minutes, but learners can restart the workspace as many times as needed to complete the lab. 

In project-based labs, the workspace duration varies by lab type. Cloud labs (such as AWS or Azure) provide a three-hour workspace. Non-cloud labs allow up to 14 days of access once the workspace is launched. As with in-course labs, learners can restart the workspace as many times as needed.

Which topics will in-course and project-based labs be available for?

Currently, in-course labs and their companion workspaces are available for data science, web development, IT Ops, AWS cloud, Amazon Bedrock, Azure Cloud, and Azure OpenAI topics.  More workspaces will be made available to instructors, enabling them to create labs for courses across popular technologies. 

Project-based labs are available for in-demand technical topics such as AI, cloud, data science, development, and security. 

Do learners need to complete in-course labs to finish the course and earn a completion certificate?

No. In-course labs are optional and don't count toward course completion. Learners can earn a course completion certificate without completing the labs.

Will labs be available for non-technical courses?

There are currently no plans to create in-course or project-based labs for non-technical topics, but stay tuned for further developments.

This article outlines the in-course labs' learning experience and how learners can access the feature.

Please note: In-course labs and their companion workspaces are only available to Udemy Business Pro customers at this time. Customers with a Udemy Business Enterprise plan can watch the in-course lab instructions, and see the lab tasks, but cannot access the practice workspace.

• Review answers to frequently asked questions about in-course and project-based labs. 

What are in-course labs?

In-course labs are hands-on learning experiences, which allow learners to practice the technical skills they are learning in a course, directly within real-world environments.

In-course labs are comprised of three parts:

1. Instructional video - A video from the course instructor that explains the activity learners will complete in the lab.
2. Technical workspace environment - A real technical environment where learners complete the activity described in the instructional video.
3. Lab tasks - Steps that the course instructor has created to help structure the lab activity.
4. AI task review - For eligible courses, you can submit your task solutions to the Udemy AI Assistant to receive AI-guided feedback, helping you learn and improve your skills.

How to access in-course Labs

In-course labs can be found within selected courses. To find courses that contain an in-course lab, navigate to the search bar, enter a course topic, and click on the “Labs” filter to find courses with an integrated lab. Learn more about searching for courses on Udemy Business.

Once enrolled in a course with an in-course lab, you can scroll through the “Course content” on the right side. Here, you will see a “Lab” tag on a specific lecture to indicate it has a lab. Select a lecture with the “Lab” tag to start an in-course lab.

Note: When you select a lab, you will navigate to the in-course lab-taking experience. You can exit the lab to return to the course and proceed with other lectures in the course.

How to use in-course Labs

Starting an in-course lab

To start an in-course lab, select a lecture tagged with “Lab” in the Course content.
Selecting a lecture tagged with “Lab” will navigate you to the lab experience. 

In this experience, you will begin by watching a video lecture that introduces the lab. While the video plays, the technical workspace is loading in the background, so it’s ready when it’s time to start the lab.

Using timestamps

As you’re watching the instructional video, you’ll encounter timestamps that pause the video and prompt you to start practicing. These timestamps are added by the course instructor and align with specific lab tasks the instructor wants you to complete.

After selecting “Start Practice” on a timestamp, you are taken to the Practice section of the activity, where the workspace environment and task automatically open, ready for you to begin practicing.

Using the workspace

In the practice section of the activity, you have access to a technical workspace. Since this workspace is selected and preconfigured by the instructor specifically for your lab activity, the workspace may vary depending on the lab activity.

Each workspace has a 60-minute timer to complete the lab. When the timer ends, the workspace will close, and any work from that session won’t be saved. You can restart the workspace at any time to continue the lab, but it will open as a fresh workspace, and you’ll need to begin again from the first step.

Accessing tasks

Tasks are step-by-step instructions that guide learners through the lab. You can access lab tasks in two ways.

1. The first method is to select a timestamp while watching the video instructions. Each timestamp links to a specific task and opens that task in the Practice section.
2. The second way is to use the navigation menu in the top-right corner. This menu lists all available tasks and can be accessed from either the video or Practice section.

Tasks include four main parts:

1. Task title - A title for the task you are completing

2. Link to video - A direct link to the video timestamp for the task you are working on

3. Lab assets - Downloadable resources or code snippets you can use to help complete the task

4. Mark task as done - An indicator you can use to mark tasks as complete and move on to your next task

5. Submit for review - If available for the lab, submit your task solution for AI review to receive feedback before moving on to the next task. 

After you click Submit for review, the Udemy AI Assistant will check your work.

If you completed the lab without any errors, you’ll receive a success message. 

If there are errors in the completed task, you’ll receive a message detailing any errors found. You can then resubmit your task or ask the Udemy AI Assistant further questions.

Using the AI Assistant while taking in-course labs 

While taking an in-course lab, you can use the Udemy AI Assistant to ask questions about the lab and for additional guidance regarding its technical concepts. You can access the AI Assistant tab from the top right of the course player.

Completing the lab

A lab is complete when all tasks for that lab are marked as complete.

When all tasks are marked complete you will see a completion screen. On this screen, you can choose to continue working in the lab, or you can exit the lab and move on to the next lecture. When you exit the lab, you’ll return to the course to continue with the next lecture.

Lab views

In-course labs have three views to help you work through the lab activities in the way that best fits your learning style:

1. Full-screen video, or the “Watch” tab. This is the view you will start each lab with, and allows you to watch the lab instructions in full screen

2. Full-screen workspace, or the “Practice” tab. This view provides full focus to the workspace and allows you to fully immerse yourself in the technical work at hand.

3. Split screen. This view allows you to watch the instructional video and access the workspace environment at the same time.

In this split-screen view, you can use the split in the middle of the panels to change the panel size of the video or workspace.

Navigating back to the course

There are three ways to navigate back to the course from an in-course lab.

Note: If you leave an in-course lab before finishing, the workspace will close and any work from that session won’t be saved. When you return, you can restart the lab in a fresh workspace from the beginning.

1. If you click the “X” button on the top left of the screen, you will be prompted to exit the lab and return to the course.

2. If you click the “Next lecture arrow” on the top left of the screen, you will be prompted to exit the lab and move on to the next lecture in the course.

3. If you click on the “Next lecture” button on the Lab Completion screen, you will also be prompted to exit the lab and move on to the next lecture in the course. 

Note for Safari users

Udemy labs run in an environment isolated from udemy.com. You will need to allow third-party cookies in your browser settings to use the preview browser in these labs. 

You can change these settings in Safari -> Preferences -> Privacy. Be sure you are using the latest version of Safari and that the checkbox below is unselected:

This article outlines Google Cloud (GCP) labs and how to access them. 

• Learn more about the labs learning experience.

Please note: Labs are only available to Udemy Business Pro users.

Table of contents

• How to access labs
• Selecting a lab mode
• Launching a workspace
• Ending workspace sessions
• Workspace sessions and restrictions
• Note for Safari users

How to access labs

1. Click on the Labs tab on your Udemy Business home page or in My learning.

2. Click Explore labs.

3. On the labs overview page, you can explore all available labs. Use the search bar or select the cloud computing radio button, then sub-filter by Google Cloud under Popular topics to find specific Google Cloud labs.

4. Click on any lab listed on the right to begin learning.

Selecting a lab mode

Once you select a Google Cloud lab, you will need to select which mode you want to learn in. We offer multiple modes for each lab so users can select the level of difficulty. 

• Learn how to select a mode for a lab.

Launching a workspace 

After selecting the mode, click on the Launch workspace button either in the top right corner or within the lab’s project assignment to open the workspace associated with the lab.

Please note: We recommend using the launcher button to open your GCP environment, but this may log you out of any Google accounts. If you access console.cloud.google.com directly and use the lab credentials, you might see a project deletion warning. This can be ignored, as it's the system detecting an older project. Use the project dropdown to select the single active project and proceed with your GCP lab!

Ending workspace sessions

You can end the workspace session by clicking End at the top of the page. 

Please note: Ending a workspace instance will reset the workspace; all data will be cleared and will not be saved. This action can't be undone.

Workspace sessions and restrictions

Review important information about workspace sessions and restrictions on Udemy.

Note for Safari users

Udemy labs run in an environment isolated from udemy.com. You will need to allow third-party cookies in your browser settings to use the preview browser in these labs. 

You can change these settings in Safari -> Preferences -> Privacy. Be sure you are using the latest version of Safari and that the checkbox below is unselected:

This article outlines our lab and workspace features.

• Note: Labs and workspaces are only available to Udemy Business Pro users.
• See frequently asked questions regarding labs.

What are labs?

Labs are hands-on learning experiences that give learners the opportunity to put knowledge into action. By working through tasks or projects in a technical workspace, users move beyond theory to real application. 

Each lab also comes with a dedicated companion workspace, providing a safe, risk-free environment where users can practice and refine their skills at their own pace.

What are workspaces?

A workspace is the virtual, technical environment where a learner practices hands-on activities. 

• Learn more about workspaces.

• Note: Review important information about workspace sessions and restrictions on Udemy.

   

What types of labs are available

Udemy currently offers two types of lab experiences.

Project-based labs

Project-based labs are a standalone learning experience that allows learners to apply their skills by completing authentic, real-world projects using a companion workspace.

With project-based labs:

• Projects are framed in the context of real-world scenarios.
• Modes allow learners to choose the level of guidance they want to receive while completing a project.
• Automated Lab Review (ALR), available in Guided Challenge mode for select labs, provides learners with real-time, specific, and actionable feedback on their work.

Learn more about project-based labs and how to access them.

In-course labs

With in-course labs, users can apply what they’re learning through guided tasks, embedded in their Udemy courses and completed in secure, pre-configured environments.

With in-course labs, learners get:

• Seamless video-to-lab integration that helps connect theory with practice.
• Real-time practice of lab lessons using secure tailor-made workspaces.

• Resource files like sample datasets, setup instructions, and documentation to support learning.

  Learn more about in-course labs and how to access them.

Standalone project-based labs are learning experiences in which learners work through tasks in real-world technical environments, called workspaces. A lab project can be completed in three different modes, each offering differing levels and styles of guidance. This article explains each type of mode and how to access them for your lab.

• Learn more about project-based labs and how learners can use the feature.
• Note: Labs are only available for Udemy Business Pro users.

What are modes? And what types of modes are there?

Modes allow you to decide the type of structure and guidance you want to have as you complete a lab project. 

For any lab project, you can choose what level of guidance you want to receive while completing the real-world project. A lab project can be taken in three different modes:

1. Follow along: The follow-along mode provides up-front step-by-step instructions for how to complete the lab. You complete the lab project by following detailed tutorials organized into tasks. 

• We recommend this mode if you are brand new to a topic or skill area.

2. Guided challenge (recommended): In the guided challenge mode, the lab project is broken down into tasks, resembling an IT ticket management system used by technical professionals. You are assigned tasks, attempt them, and then check your work against provided solutions. This mode provides high-level guidance on how to approach the overall project and allows you to have hands-on experience and self-assess your progress along the way.

• We recommend this mode for the majority of learners. This mode is a good fit if you are familiar with the topic and need to practice the real-world application.
   
• Please note: Selected project-based labs include automated reviews in Guided challenge mode for learners to check their work and get specific and actionable feedback on their task attempts. Learn more about Automated Lab Review.

3. Open challenge: The open challenge mode provides a minimum level of guidance as you determine the overall approach and steps needed to complete the project. You are provided with a library of resources to work through the project and will complete the work on your own with minimal guidance and support. 

•  We recommend this mode if you are feeling confident and ready to complete a real-world project on your own. 

Note: Modes are only available in project-based labs, not in-course labs.

• Learn more about in-course labs.

How do I select my preferred mode?

After accessing your lab, you can select your preferred mode on the lab project's overview page.

1. Under Choose your mode, select your preferred mode for this lab.

2. Click Start lab.

This article outlines the Automated Lab Review (ALR) feature for project-based labs, which provides real-time and actionable feedback for your work in a lab project's workspace.

Note:

• Automated Lab Review is only available for project-based labs, and not in-course labs.
  • Learn more about in-course labs.
• Labs are only available to Udemy Business Pro users.
  • Learn more about labs and workspaces.

Locating lab projects that feature an Automated Lab Review

You can locate lab projects that feature an automated lab review by following the steps below:

1. From the home page of your Udemy Business account, move your cursor to the Explore menu at the top-left hand of the page and then select Labs. 

2. Enable the Automated lab reviews filter to ensure your search results include project-based labs with the feature.

How to start a lab project with an Automated Lab Review

Note: Automated Lab Review is only available in the Guided Challenge mode.

Step 1: To start the lab in Guided Challenge Mode, select Guided challenge, then click Start lab.

Step 2: From the project assignment page, launch the Workspace by clicking Launch workspace. The workspace is where you’ll complete each task. Learn more about workspaces.

View the tasks for the lab project by clicking See your tasks.

From the Tasks view, you will see a list of tasks required to complete the lab, instructions for the task, resources to complete the task, and the Start review button. 

Follow the instructions to complete each task, in order, in the provided workspace. When you're ready to check your work, click Start review for real-time feedback about your task solution.

Successful completion of tasks in this lab

The lab will review your work and display your results. If you have successfully completed the task, the Mark task as complete button will be enabled. You can click Mark task as complete and continue to the next task. 

Task errors

If there are errors in your solution, the review section will provide feedback and guidance on how to approach the task again more accurately. You can also click on the Example approach for additional guidance. 

When you are ready for another review, click New review. Once the Mark task as complete button is no longer grayed out and enabled, click on it to proceed to the next task in the lab.  

Project-based labs with enhanced manager feedback.

Some project-based labs with Automated Lab Review will include additional feedback within the Your Manager section, which will adapt with each attempted solution. The review feedback is dependent on the code you input to the workspace. This dynamic feedback is meant to provide helpful hints and steps to help you complete your tasks and accelerate your progress.

Please use the thumbs up or thumbs down icons to indicate whether the feedback you received was helpful. You can submit a response each time you request a review and review new feedback.

Note: you will see this additional feedback when there are still checks to complete per the task. If you have correctly completed all checks, you will not receive additional feedback and will be permitted to mark the task as complete to proceed.

Note for Safari users.

Udemy labs run in an environment isolated from udemy.com. You will need to allow third-party cookies in your browser settings to use the preview browser in these labs. You can change these settings in Safari -> Preferences -> Privacy. Be sure you are using the latest version of Safari and that the checkbox below is unselected: