Both programs are supported financially and technically by the
Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, a Yale center that offers training, consultation, and resources to make teaching and learning more public and collaborative. In fact, they emerged from a request for proposal from the Poorvu Center for new projects related to online learning.
After receiving seed money, each center ran a market survey of potential participants: Which subjects would be most useful? What format was preferred? What were reasonable expectations for time and tuition? With answers to these basic questions, ELTI and CBEY designed programs with different structures but fundamentally similar purposes.
First, they have established a new platform through which expertise from across Yale is opened to a global audience. “Financing and Deploying Clean Energy,” for instance, takes advantage of 15 faculty members from four different schools across the university and draws course material from environmental science, economics, business, finance, engineering, law, and political science.
“Tropical Forest Landscapes” also covers a range of topics related to forest restoration and conservation and has enrolled a predominantly global group: 43 people from 29 countries.
Second, both programs are deeply invested in effecting real and enduring change.