1. Internet based public health capacity building for developing countries: People's Open Access Education Initiative Richard Heller, Gracia Fellmeth, Terence Harrison Steve Fabricant & Jessica Sheringham

2. Ideas behind the Peoples-uni Develop public health capacity in low income countries Keep costs very low using open educational resources open source delivery mechanisms volunteers Position outside (but in collaboration with) traditional university system

3. Peoples-uni: History 20062007 URL created Module pilot Charity status 2008 1st semester 20102009

4. First semester’s students Educational experience Medical degree 46 Other Health degree 34 Other non-health degree 30 No degree 7 Postgraduate degree (in addition to any above) 25 Current occupation* Public Health worker 48 Mainly clinician 56 Student 4 Academic 7 (*2 no answer)‏

5. Commend to others? Relevant to job? More modules? Diploma/ MSc? How did we do? Student feedback

6. How did they do? First semester pass rate

7. 2010: where we are now 4th semester: 13 modules; 6 in preparation ~ 100 active volunteers, working as: Trustees International advisory group QA, IT, Operations groups Course delivery & development teams Education officers

8. Semester 1, 2010 (86 volunteers )

9. Semester 1, 2010 (143 students)

10. Modules (4 =Certificate; 8 = Diploma; Masters to require two reports+ dissertation) Foundation Sciences Biostatistics Introduction to Epidemiology Evidence Based Practice Health economics Inequalities and SDH Public Health concepts for policy makers (F+S) Public Health Problems Communicable diseases Disaster management & emergency planning HIV/AIDS Maternal Mortality Preventing child mortality Public Health nutrition Patient safety

11. Case study: Using Moodle to deliver Evidence Based Practice Module follows Peoples-Uni template: 5 topics (2 weeks each) Online facilitation by volunteer tutors following facilitators guide Automated application and enrollment process http://courses.peoples- uni.org/course/applications.php http://courses.peoples- uni.org/course/applications.php MCQs available during module Assessed assignment after module Automated records & creation of academic transcripts

12. Student activity report: example

13. Facilitating on People’s Uni: experiences and challenges Learning from vastly diverse student experiences & cultures – Students also have wide range of abilities: pitching it right Maintaining quantity and quality of discussion throughout entire module – Stimulating postings (dealing with online ‘silences’!) – Tried realtime chat, but timezones & connectivity problems Learning Moodle’s capabilities ourselves whilst… Appreciating limitations faced by our students: – Access to online materials – Limited bandwidth, computer access – Extremely challenging day jobs

14. Peoples-Uni developments New modules Avoiding blindness, Chronic disease, Evaluation of interventions Environmental health, Climate change Research methods module(s)/certificate in planning stage with Journal of Clinical Epidemiology and Afro-European Medical and Research Network (AEMRN)‏ Institutional partnerships Seeking accreditation or double badging

15. Student experience: developments Separate CPD and academic award streams Upgrade to Masters in Public Health to start semester 2, 2010 More structure to resources and discussions Improve information to create realistic expectations among the students Charge fees as condition of enrolment ($50 US per module charged)

16. Peoples-uni and Partnerships Collaboration and partnerships essential Local relevance of education Local credibility Add value not compete Institutional Double badge awards Internet access centres Individual Course module developers On-line facilitators Moodle support

17. Our questions to you Interested in collaborating? Individuals: developing modules, facilitators, Moodle support Institutions: jointly develop & deliver courses of mutual interest Ideas for using Moodle to best effect in People’s Uni context? talented, committed, global student base diverse range of experiences, cultures limited IT access/experience, time Advice on issues currently facing us, eg system for co-authoring remotely how to communicate (for free) in real time how to avoid drop off in discussion postings

18. Finally Peoples-uni’s 'social model' approach can contribute to Public Health capacity-building in low/middle-income countries work in other academic areas All collaboration welcome. Please join in or make suggestions More information: http://peoples-uni.org rfheller@peoples-uni.org jsheringham2004@yahoo.co.uk, Terence.Harrison@mh.org.aujsheringham2004@yahoo.co.uk Terence.Harrison@mh.org.au