Giving the poor a hand through education

Dead Sea, Jordan: Shai Reshef has a vision of a million students from the poorest countries of the world, studying for an accredited American degree, at no cost and doing it all on-line so that they do not have to leave their homes where ever they may be in the world.

In September he launches the University of the People with the support of the United Nations and its programme to improve computer awareness in the world's poorest countries.

He plans an initial cadre of 300 students, to grow by 30 per cent every term. He is greatly encouraged by the take-up this week, when he opened registration and got 150 students within a week from 35 countries.

His university is a non-profit organisation that will only offer two degrees, one in computer sciences and the other in business administration. "These are international and portable skills, both in high demand" he said. "They are both very useful for finding jobs."

The concept is that high school students from any where in the world will be able to log on, enrol at the University of the People (which charges no fees), and form peer groups of no more than 20 students at a time, who will then be guided through their studies by volunteer professors and professionals from industry.

As Reshef explained, the university needs 10,000 to 15,000 students to be viable, "but if we can attract a million students, then we can change the world".