Peoples-uni started in 2006 with the mission “To contribute to improvements in the health of populations in low- to middle-income countries by building Public Health capacity via e-learning at very low cost” and had the following objectives:
- Provide Public Health education for those working in low- to middle-income countries who would otherwise not be able to access such education, via Internet-based e-learning
- Utilise a 'social model' of capacity building, with volunteer academic and support staff and Open Educational Resources available through the Internet, using a collaborative approach and modern Information and Communication Technology
- Offer education at the 'train the trainers' benchmarked to the master's degree level, for those with prior educational and occupational experience
- Provide education that meets identified competencies that help with the evidence-based practice of Public Health and are action-oriented, to assist in tackling major health problems facing the populations in which the students work
- Create an educational portfolio including Continuing Professional Development modules and awards of Certificate, Diploma and Master of Public Health
- Work with the graduates of the educational programme, and other relevant partner organisations, in teaching, research, implementation of evidence-based health policy and advocacy to improve the health of their populations.
We are proud to note that the first 5 Objectives have been achieved. Having reached this stage in our journey and recognising that the world has changed in the last 15 years since Peoples-uni started, the trustees and senior supporters have decided to close the Charity. The existing programmes will now be delivered by NextGenU.org who will adopt them as they see fit. Our educational content was developed largely under Creative Commons Licence and hence is available for use by anyone who shares the Peoples-uni philosophy.
Our focus now will be on the remaining Objective 6 - our guiding principles have always been to cooperate and not compete and more importantly add value- we will now be taking stock of the current situation, especially in light of our experience over the years and the impact of Covid 19 pandemic, and explore how we can support the global efforts to accelerate the development of much needed public health capacity. We hope to share our future plans in the next few months and look forward to working with like-minded colleagues.
Our sincere thanks to all the volunteers and partners who supported us in various ways and helped show that there is an affordable way to deliver quality education and build public health capacity globally. We wish all of them and all the students and alumni the best in their future plans.
For further information please contact Professor Heller.