No Students; No Faculty

Goodbye

I’d like to announce a structural change to Medici University. Today, Valentines’s Day 2015, we’re going to take a step closer to fully sharing the love, a step closer to fully sharing the knowledge, and the quest for knowledge, that Medici University represents.

Effective today, Medici University will no longer have any students.

Effective today, Medici University will no longer have any faculty.

Effective today, Medici University will only have learners.

Hello

Some learners might mostly “teach” and perhaps some learners will “take many classes.” But whether in relatively traditional class settings, or in more contemporary activity settings, MU is saying goodbye to the old, 19th century, hierarchical system of master and apprentice. In a 21st century world of continuing education in a knowledge multiverse, we are all on a common journey to share and maximize knowledge.

I hope MU will always have highly knowledgeable people who can share ideas and help learners choose useful paths of learning. This isn’t the end of expertise. But it is a step away from top-down knowledge. It’s a step away from faculty as high-priests of knowledge.

Welcome to the Beginning

If you know something useful, share it.

If you want to learn something, ask about it.

If you need help, or can give help, putting together a program, ask for it, or give it.

Collecting the Bits

Through a combination of

Life Experience
Books, articles, websites, videos
MOOCs
Collaboration & Critique with fellow learners

you can assemble a truly world class education for a fraction of the cost of a graduate program in the developed world. As always, your Medici University fees will be €0.

Welcome Learners

Spring 2015 semester has already very much begun. As we look toward convocation and our official start on 1 March 2015, I’m excited to continue the MU tradition of giving more power, and hence more personal responsibility, to our learners.

I’m humbled to be in the presence of so many souls thirsty for knowledge, and I can’t wait to see what you achieve across the 15 weeks of our semester.

Thank You! And, Good Luck!

Isabella Medici
Provost

Images

Thank you to these artists for supporting social production by sharing their work with a Creative Commons License on Flickr:

Students sharing their ideas on the case study by Novartis AG
Spring 2012 Student Hackathon Coding by hackNY.org

Isabella Medici

I'm passionate about healthy, cruelty free, sustainable living. I don't support patriarchal culture, the military industrial complex, or the slaughtering of animals. I do support educational experiences and careers that don't involve hours, requirements, or offices, but that instead are based on achievements.