Earlier this year, in the UK, wealthy parents bid thousands of pounds at a fundraiser for their children to have “the golden chance” of a summer holiday internship with leading financial firms*. Temporary placements such as these provide precious work experience and privileged networking opportunities, raising the intern’s job prospects way above those of equally talented but under-resourced students.
In contrast, HP has announced a free-of-charge research internship program for students who are currently studying at the University of the People (UoPeople). “We strongly believe in the work UoPeople is doing to democratize higher education,” says Jeannette Weisschuh, director of education and entrepreneurship, office of global social innovation, HP.
Students of this tuition-free online university can apply to become virtual interns as part of the HP Catalyst initiative, an expanding global consortium of 56 organizations, mostly universities, that focus on projects related to improving STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education. HP Catalyst is all about accessing, collaborating, engaging, and motivating learning, inside and outside the classroom, in innovative and transformative ways. UoPeople students will be able to work within the Catalyst community across a number of areas in educationgaining experience “to launch successful careers and truly contribute to their countries and to the world,” said Shai Reshef, founder and president, UoPeople.
What else can be done to democratize higher education? Join the discussion on Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/UoPeople
The HP Catalyst initiative is growing fast – find out more:
http://h30507.www3.hp.com/t5/Data-Central/HP-Expan
