Serageldin today inaugurated the Science Supercourse Day, an event held at the BA to launch the Library’s new Project: The Science Supercourse. The project aims to build an internet archive of PowerPoint lectures in four main scientific disciplines, namely: Medicine (public health), Agriculture, Engineering and Environment. It is targeting a total of 100,000 Golden PowerPoint lectures within a year and one million in three years. The aim of this project is to provide the most updated and accessible online lectures for free. It is part of the Library’s efforts to spread knowledge worldwide.
Ever a passionate champion of knowledge and education, Serageldin gave a presentation entitled Supercourse Dreams! in which he spoke of what he termed “the knowledge revolution”, which represents ‘a shift from brawn and muscle to brain power’; of ‘the new discoveries and the speed of change’; of ‘the tinkering with the building blocks of life’. Lamenting the inequality in access to knowledge, he emphasized the urgent need for scientific education to grow in developing countries. The Supercourse, he said, will allow teachers to stay in touch, in an easy and accessible fashion with the latest in science, and added that the BA is proud to join the artisans of a better future.
As an incurable optimist, hoping for worldwide mutual cooperation, he sees a silver lining in all the difficulties the world is undergoing at the present time. He believes that in all the ongoing strife, ideologies have been shaken, and governments will rethink their roles with a greater awareness of global environmental problems and with a greater realization of the cooperation needed to overcome our universal troubles.
Professor Vinton Cerf, “the Father of the Internet” and Vice President of Google, and Professor Ronald LaPorte, Professor of Epidemiology, Pittsburg University, were among the eminent personalities participating in the inauguration of today’s event.
Click here to view a webcast of Serageldin's presentation Supercouse Dreams!
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