Who cares if you can get free MP3s online? How about a free college education?

Israeli entrepreneur Shai Reshef has started something truly remarkable in the online world–it’s called the University of the People. Its purpose to put a college education within the reach of those who cannot afford it. It’s stunning to think about the collective cognitive power this idea could eventually release into the world. The greatest natural resource on the planet isn’t oil; it’s the brains of the humans who live here. Increasing the productivity of those brains is almost certainly the best investment we can possibly make. Reshef started the University of the People with an investment of just $1 million and is hoping to raise another $5 million from private sources.

The university is currently pursuing accreditation in the United States and offers degree programs in business administration and computer science and hopes to be serving 15,000 students within four years. I hope they blow past that goal and are educating hundreds of thousands within a decade.

Thanks to the great Steve Fedorko for the heads up on this story, which you can read in its entirety here at Technology Review.