Today I talked to Guerra Freitas, leader of an initiative to build Angola University, the first university in Angola. We discussed the creation of the Department of Open Economic Development based on the GVCS platform. The project is currently at the stage of creating an Institution Development Plan to be submitted to the Angolan government.
The site is currently 13 square miles of raw land. That is a blank slate – so there’s lots of room for creativity. There is opportunity for technical training, which could result in a bootstrapping microfactory that actually builds the capacity to build the campus – by providing the tools necessary to build a complete infrastructure – with built in-means of wealth generation. Personally, I think it would be great if Africa were to lead global innovation in such practical training, as well as in open source economic development for the next century.
We are looking for a volunteer to develop a curriculum for either a certificate, associate, or Bachelor’s level program, Open Economic Development, based on the GVCS. The problem statement is: what is the substance of such a program, and how does it contribute to real skills for Open Economic Development? The scope is not only the GVCS – but the infrastructure and civilization-building ramifications of the Global Village Construction Set. If you are a curriculum developer, or if you want to take this on as a Ph.D. thesis through Gaia University or another university, contact me to discuss the details. As I discussed in the last post, you would have to do the heavy work of composing the curriculum, as I will continue with my core competency of developing the GVCS – so that there’s something to teach about in the first place – and not only that – but also so that there’s the real economic engine that can raise such initiatives from the ground up.
We were planning to focus on the curriculum development aspect in 2 or so years within our own plans, after the GVCS is complete. This may be a chance to expand to this front now. We welcome any collaborators in developing this University Construction Set. The curriculum that you will write may be applicable not only to Angola University – but any similar initiative – of which I think there will be plenty in the future. A University Construction Set would be a good addition to the world’s repertoire of open source tools.
I’m a a chemistry prof nearing retirement. This University puts a lump in my throat and tugs at my heart, but I know I’m not the one to spearhead the department you have in mind. ( I have also been thinking that Haiti needs the tractor etc to help clean up and rebuild after the quake, but Bill Clinton’s organization did not appear to latch onto it.)