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I would like to share with you[br]a new model of higher education,

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a model that, once expanded,

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can enhance the collective intelligence

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of millions of creative[br]and motivated individuals

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that otherwise would be left behind.

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Look at the world.

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Pick a place and focus on it.

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You will find humans[br]chasing higher education.

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Let's meet some of them.

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Patrick.

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Patrick was born in Liberia[br]to a family of 20 children.

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During the civil war,

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he and his family were forced[br]to flee to Nigeria.

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There, in spite of his situation,

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he graduated high school[br]with nearly perfect grades.

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He wanted to continue to higher education,

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but due to his family[br]living on the poverty line,

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he was soon sent to South Africa

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to work and send back money[br]to feed his family.

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Patrick never gave up his dream[br]of higher education.

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Late at night, after work,

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he surfed the net,[br]looking for ways to study.

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Meet Debbie.

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Debbie is from Florida.

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Her parents didn't go to college,[br]and neither did any of her siblings.

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Debbie has worked all her life,

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pays taxes, supports herself[br]month to month,

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proud of the American dream,

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a dream that just won't be complete[br]without higher education.

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But Debbie doesn't have the savings[br]for higher education.

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She can't pay the tuition.

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Neither could she leave work.

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Meet Wael.

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Wael is from Syria.

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He's experiencing firsthand

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the misery, fear and failure[br]imposed on his country.

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He's a big believer in education.

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He knew that if he could find[br]an opportunity for higher education,

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an opportunity to get ahead of the rest,

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he has a better chance to survive[br]in a world turned upside down.

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The higher education system

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failed Patrick, Debbie and Wael,

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exactly as it is failing[br]millions of potential students --

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millions that graduate high school,

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millions that are qualified[br]for higher education,

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millions that want to study[br]yet cannot access it for various reasons.

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First: financial.

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Universities are expensive;[br]we all know it.

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In large parts of the world,

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higher education is unattainable[br]for an average citizen.

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This is probably the biggest problem[br]facing our society.

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Higher education stopped[br]being a right for all

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and became a privilege for the few.

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Second: cultural.

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Students who are qualified[br]for higher education

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can afford -- want to study -- cannot,

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because it is not decent,[br]it is not a place for a woman.

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This is the story of countless women[br]in Africa, for example,

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prevented from higher education[br]because of cultural barriers.

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And here comes the third reason:

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UNESCO stated that in 2025,

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100 million students will be deprived[br]of higher education,

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simply because there will not be enough[br]seats to accommodate them,

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to meet the demand.

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They will take a placement test,[br]they will pass it,

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but they still won't have access,[br]because there are no places available.

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These are the reasons[br]I founded University of the People,

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a nonprofit, tuition-free,[br]degree-granting university

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to give an alternative,

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to create an alternative,[br]to those who have no other;

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an alternative that will be[br]affordable and scalable,

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an alternative that will disrupt[br]the current education system,

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and open the gates to higher education[br]for every qualified student

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regardless of what they earn,[br]where they live,

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or what society says about them.

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Patrick, Debbie and Wael

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are only three examples[br]out of the 1,700 accepted students

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from 143 countries.

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(Applause)

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Thank you.

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(Applause)

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We didn't need to reinvent the wheel.

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We just looked at what wasn't working

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and used the amazing power of the Internet

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to get around it.

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We set out to build a model

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that will cut down almost entirely[br]the cost of higher education.

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And that's how we did it.

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First, bricks and mortar cost money.

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Universities have expenses[br]that virtual universities don't.

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We don't need to pass these expenses[br]on to our students.

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They don't exist.

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We also don't need[br]to worry about capacity.

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There are no limits of seats[br]in virtual university.

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Actually, nobody needs to stand[br]at the back of the lecture hall.

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Textbooks are also something[br]our students don't need to buy.

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By using open educational resources

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and the generosity of professors

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who are putting their material up[br]free and accessible,

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we don't need to send[br]our students to buy textbooks.

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All of our materials come free.

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Even professors,

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the most expensive line[br]in any university balance sheet,

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come free to our students.

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Over 3,000 of them,

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including presidents, vice chancellors,[br]professors and academic advisers

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from top universities such as NYU,[br]Yale, Berkeley and Oxford,

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came on board to help our students.

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Finally, is our belief[br]in peer-to-peer learning.

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We use this sound pedagogical model

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to encourage our students[br]from all over the world

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to interact and study together,

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and also to reduce the time[br]our professors need

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to labor over class assignments.

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If the Internet has made us[br]a global village,

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this model can develop[br]its future leadership.

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Look how we do it.

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We only offer two programs:

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business administration[br]and computer science,

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the two programs most in demand worldwide,

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the two programs that are likeliest[br]to help our students find a job.

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When our students are accepted,

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they are placed in a small classroom[br]of 20 to 30 students,

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to ensure that those who need[br]personalized attention get it.

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Moreover, for every nine-week course,[br]they meet a new peer,

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a whole new set of students[br]from all over the world.

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Every week, when they go[br]into the classroom,

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they find the lecture notes of the week,

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the reading assignment,[br]the homework assignment,

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and the discussion question,[br]which is the core of our studies.

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Every week, every student must contribute[br]to the class discussion,

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and also must comment[br]on the contribution of others.

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This way, we open our students' minds,

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we develop a positive shift in attitude[br]toward different cultures.

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By the end of each week,[br]the students take a quiz,

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hand in their homework,

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which are assessed by their peers[br]under the supervision of the instructors,

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get a grade, move to the next week.

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By the end of the course,[br]they take the final exam,

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get a grade, and follow[br]to the next course.

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We open the gates for higher education[br]for every qualified student.

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Every student with a high school diploma,

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sufficient English and Internet connection

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can study with us.

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We don't use audio, we don't use video.

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Broadband is not necessary.

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Any student from any part of the world[br]with any Internet connection

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can study with us.

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We are tuition free.

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All we ask our students to cover[br]is the cost of their exams,

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100 dollars per exam.

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A full-time bachelor's degree[br]student taking 40 courses

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will pay 1,000 dollars a year,

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4,000 dollars for the entire degree.

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And for those who cannot afford even this,

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we offer them a variety of scholarships.

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It is our mission that nobody[br]will be left behind

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for financial reasons.

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With 5,000 students in 2016,[br]this model is financially sustainable.

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Five years ago, it was a vision.

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Today, it is a reality.

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Last month, we got the ultimate[br]academic endorsement to our model.

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University of the People[br]is now fully accredited.

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(Applause)

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Thank you.

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(Applause)

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With this accreditation,[br]it's our time now to scale up.

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We have demonstrated that our model works.

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I invite universities[br]and, even more important,

0:10:01.416,0:10:03.085
developing countries' governments,

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to replicate this model

0:10:05.039,0:10:09.570
to ensure that the gates of higher[br]education will open widely.

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A new era is coming --

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an era that will witness the disruption[br]of the higher education model

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as we know it today,

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from being a privilege for the few

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to becoming a basic right,[br]affordable and accessible for all.

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Thank you.

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(Applause)