We are starting a university.

But not just any university... one that encourages its students to learn a lot of different subjects, then tie those subjects together to create new ideas. We think that by doing this, we can train polymaths - people who are able to think about and contribute to many different fields of study, like Leonardo da Vinci did.

Why is this a good thing?

First, we believe in learning for its own sake. If students can learn more than they are learning and want to learn more than they are learning, then they should be able to learn as much as they want to. There's no reason why they should only be allowed to learn one thing! More importantly, we believe that people have many different talents, but that most of these talents are never used because today's schools only teach one subject in depth. We think that teaching many subjects at once and tying the ideas from those subjects together, like we intend to do, will speed up society's progress on solving many of the problems it faces. It might even start a second Renaissance. At the least, it will make our students a lot more creative.

So how do you plan on doing this?

Patiently. We think it might take around 10 years to go from idea to functional brick-and-mortar university, depending on the support we receive. We'll have partial operations up earlier.

We're going to start by fundraising online and in local communities, giving donation-supported lectures on topics that people find interesting or useful. By doing this, we will also spread awareness of the idea. Once we've gathered enough to hire faculty, we'll start giving courses on subjects that are in-demand and will partner with businesses to train workers. We'll begin offering our courses online, but eventually, this will hopefully give us the income we need to form a campus and to develop degree programs. From there, we'll seek accreditation and begin setting up the experiences that will make our students truly unique leaders.

What are the main differences between your idea and existing universities?

The primary differences we have identified are:

• Our university will be heavily multidisciplinary from the ground up.
• We will take an individual approach to breadth, not one driven by a committee of specialists.
• We will teach students how to cross ideas from one discipline over to another.
• We will allow students to advance through the program as soon as they are able, even mid-semester.
• The primary objective of the education will be development and fulfillment of a student's individual goals. We won't stop when a student meets our standards; the student must feel that he has met his own standards as well.
• We will allow students and alumni to audit any course (without credit) for free, space permitting.
• We will encourage the generation of ideas and will provide an environment supportive of the creative process.
• We will provide opportunities, but never requirements, for students to broaden their horizons (internships, mentored study, independent study, teaching, participating on university decision making committees, study abroad, etc.)
• Students will have a significant say in the policies of the university.

How can I get involved?

See the join our cause page for the ways you can contribute. Thanks!