At a press conference on April 4, 2001, MIT announced its commitment to make the materials from virtually all of its courses freely available on the World Wide Web for non-commercial use. This new initiative, called MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW), reflects MIT's commitment to disseminate knowledge across the globe.

　　We see OCW as providing a way to share our thinking about the content of a modern curriculum in all the areas in which MIT excels. Users of this site may include other academics around the world and individual learners who may not have access to similar educational materials.

　　The task of creating a highly visible website that draws together the materials of virtually all of MIT's course offerings is considerable. However, the majority of faculty support this effort and believe that it is consistent with MIT's long-standing objective to focus the contributions of both its faculty and its new technologies on broad, societal benefits.

What Are the Responses?

　　Hundreds of people from all over the world, including Nobel laureate Joshua Lederberg, sent e-mails to MIT to express enthusiastic approval of her pioneering OpenCourseWare program. Messages came from as far away as Australia, Nigeria, South Africa and India, as well as many places in North America. Below are some sampling messages.

　　"I am a Nigerian student who has dreamt all his life of studying in MIT. Thanks a lot for making this dream come true, for if I can't come to MIT, MIT has now come to me."

　　"I write this letter to convey my best wishes for the success of your OpenCourseWare program. I am a resident in India, and would have given anything to have had access to such a facility when I was a student. I used to be frustrated when I wanted to learn and could not afford to buy books or simply did not have access to such books in local book shops."

　　"Congratulations on your OpenCourseWare initiative. You set an example for the world. I can't wait to access your materials for the improvement of my mind. Strength to your arm!" (Johannesburg, South Africa)

　　"What an extraordinary idea! I'm simply in awe of your ambitious initiative. That it comes from a private university which could arguably maintain that it does not have the same obligation to the public as a state university is even more striking." (Seattle).

　　"This is very good news for many people like me. I'm writing from Ecuador. People from undeveloped countries like this have no easy access to the research and the topics used by professors at universities like MIT. I'm sure this fact will influence the knowledge of many needy people around the world." (Quito, Ecuador)

　　"Let me just congratulate you and your university for the initiative OpenCourseWare of opening your knowledge to the world. I must say that for me it is only a little surprise that MIT takes such original initiative, because MIT has already showed in the past its global view of the world and of human knowledge. I am convinced that the majority of university leaders and politicians have not yet realized what is the real potential of the Internet. But what is now important is that MIT has taken such initiative and has showed the way for others that will follow. (Brussels, Belgium)

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