absolutely Intercultural 94 +++ University of the People +++ Shai Reshef +++ Debbie Swallow +++ 4C International +++

uniofpeopleabsolutely confused
When we first got a mail about the University of the People I thought I had better just check and the more I investigated, the more I realised that I hadn’t been able to recognise this initiative for what it was because it is so unique and visionary. And as I have found several times, over the last 3 years, I realised that this was the product of one person’s strong vision to do what they can to overcome disadvantage and misunderstanding. So this show is mainly about Shai Reshef and the free tuition online university he has founded in order to make higher education accessible to anyone with a high school diploma. This is an offer open to anyone, anywhere in the world.

absolutely accessible
The world needs educated people but universities are expensive. Shai Reshef, an Israeli entrepreneur, is trying to do something about this by harnessing the power of the Internet, social networking and Open Source educational materials to provide free tuition and low cost examinations through his University of the People. I asked him first to describe his background to see if there were any clues there as to why he had come up with this idea.

The tuition is free but there are still some costs which need to be covered. So we hear a little more about the costs of attending the University of the People and how it works in practice. There is a lot more about the university and how it operates if you go to their website.

absolute role model
A few months back we had a request from Debbie Swallow in the UK of 4c International to suggest the names of some celebrities who could be deemed intercultural ambassadors. Well when I talked with Debbie about her main work a few weeks back I reminded her about her request and asked if any good suggestions had come forward. We should probably add Shai Reshef to that list now but at the time we talked, the University of the People had yet to open. So we’ll be hearing which other names cropped up.

Debbie originally left a comment on our blog so if you have any comments or suggestions you could tell us what you think at the bottom of this post. As I mentioned at the beginning, we found out about the University of the People when they sent us an email so that’s how the podcast works.  

The next show will be coming to you on 30 October from Dr. Laurent Borgmann   in Germany.

So long…stay tuned!

The host of this show is: Anne Fox

Editor: Dino Nogarole

4 thoughts on “absolutely Intercultural 94 +++ University of the People +++ Shai Reshef +++ Debbie Swallow +++ 4C International +++”

  1. Hello,

    First and foremost, I really appreciate the work you are doing. Fascinating, relevant, and offering unique perspectives in the area of intercultural communication.
    I run a company based in Toronto, Canada called Universally Speaking. (please feel free to visit us at http://www.universally-speaking.com for more information)
    We are in the process of developing an RSS feed for the site, and would like to include links to some of your podcasts. I’m not sure of the etiquette regarding this type of sharing, so thought it best to contact you with my interest.
    Thanks in advance for your response,
    Cara Malla
    Managing Director
    Universally Speaking

  2. REPLY TO CARA: YES; PLEASE FEEL FREE TO INCLUDE ABSOLUTELY INTERCULTURAL AS RSS FEED ON YOUR PAGE
    ———————————————–
    Hi Cara
    Thank you for your lovely message. It’s nice to know when our efforts are appreciated. I have spoken with Anne Fox, my co-host and, yes, you are right, it is sometimes a little difficult to know what the etiquette on these matters is especially when the parties do not know each other. So let me reassure you that we are delighted that you think our work is useful and we are more than happy for you to link our podcast to your site. And this goes for our other listeners, too, of course. Just get in touch with us, so that we know this is happening.

    We were both not sure of the technical side of all this. If you use an RSS feed then we think that the latest show will always be uppermost whereas you may need to use a static link if you are interested in specific shows. You get the static link by clicking on the title of the individual show.

    And maybe we should feature your company on our show? You seem to offer a comprehensive package of communication training. Let us know. We could do a telephone or Skype interview with you.
    Regards
    Anne and Laurence

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