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Rachel Finley
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Brigham Young University
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BYU’s Center for eBusiness Helps Give Education to the World

20 October 2006 in the Daily Universe, the Brigham Young University campus newspaper. Reprinted with permission.

By Aaron Searle

BYU’s timeless motto, “Enter to learn, go forth to serve,” has been given a new

twist by some service-minded students and faculty working on BYU’s eCANDLE project.

The project is sponsored by the Kevin and Debra Rollins Center for eBusiness in the Marriott School.

“Our motto is, ‘enter to learn and serve’ because you don’t have to wait until you graduate to start helping people,” said Curt Allen, advisor for the eCANDLE project. “We want students, faculty and other advisors to serve now.”

The eCANDLE project is now in the final development stages, but when it becomes fully functional in early 2007, it will provide interactive online business lessons and guidelines for anybody who needs them—especially those in developing nations.

“Our intention is to make these services free to anyone who needs them,” Allen said. “Our intention is to collect what we have and share it with the rest of the world.”

The lessons and business help on the web site will cover English as a second language, entrepreneurship, ethics, and other business principles.

Allen said the project’s first focus is on China, but it will branch out to target many other languages and cultures.

“We chose to start with China because there are more people there than anywhere else on the planet,” he said. “And they have a tremendous need for this kind of information.”

Some members of the eCANDLE group traveled to China this past summer to present research on e-learning at conferences and test a pilot form of the project, which was met with great reviews, Allen said.

Aside from the organized lessons, individuals—especially students—will provide the main source of information that will be available online. In this way, the eCANDLE resource is, in part, a wiki—a web site that allows visitors to submit information to be added to the site’s content.

At this stage, Allen said the wiki is still being compiled, and students and faculty are asked to submit anything they think might be useful to individuals who will use the site as a business resource.

Students from any discipline can participate.

“We want anybody who’s interested in technology, anybody who has expertise in a foreign language, also anybody who’s an entrepreneur,” Allen said. “Really, I think almost anybody can benefit by getting involved with this program.”

Corey Beahm, a senior from Rigby, Idaho, studying finance who is the eCANDLE project leader got involved with eCANDLE for one main reason.

“It’s an opportunity to give back,” he said. “I’ve had needs for resources and education before and it’s an opportunity to help others who also have those needs for education.”

Though the service aspect of the project is a major influence in why people get involved, it’s not the only benefit the project produces for students.

“There has been a lot of hands-on business experience,” said Kenny Hunsaker, a senior information systems and Chinese major from Burley, Idaho, and eCANDLE participant. “We get to work alongside business professionals, which is almost a priceless experience.”