学业or事业：看在线教育如何刺激创业

Today, there’s not much we can’t access online. But one area has fallen short in terms of the breadth and depth of online access: high quality education. Thankfully, that may be about to change thanks to the initiatives of 2U, a company that aims to revolutionize higher education by developing the world’s best online educational experiences in partnership with leading universities.

当今的网络资源可谓四通八达、无所不包。然而在一个领域中，网络资源的深度和广度都还有所欠缺——高质量教育资源。幸运的是，随着2U一类公司的出现，这种局面将会得以改善。U2公司致力于通过与优秀院校建立伙伴关系、发展最佳的在线教育课程，从而开启高等教育产业的变革过程。

This global, online educational initiative really hits home for me. I built my business while still in school. If this program were available to me during college, it would have allowed me to work full-time and receive college credit from international universities.

这种国际性的在线教育创新尝试在我看来是非常有益的。我是在求学期间开始创业的。如果我在校期间有这种教育项目，我就可以一边做全职工作，一边在国际名牌大学听课赚学分了。

Fortunately, I didn’t have to make the choice between my education and my business, but Andrew Hermalyn did. He’s a member of 2U’s founding team, now the Executive Vice President of 2U’s Semester Online, a one-of-a-kind program offering rigorous for-credit undergraduate courses through prestigious college and universities.

幸运的是，那时我并不需要在学业和职业之间进行选择，但安德鲁·赫姆林就曾经面对这样两难的选择。他是2U创立团队中的一个成员，是该公司的常务副总裁。如今他负责的是Semester Online这个项目，这是一个非常特别的项目，为用户提供名牌院校开设的本科生课程，课程管理采取严格的学费制度。

I recently spoke with one of Andrew’s long-time connections, Paul Critchlow, the Vice Chairman of Public Markets at Bank of America. He shared some insight about how Andrew got his start with 2U:

最近我和安德鲁的一位长期联系人，美国银行公共市场副总裁保尔·克里奇劳有一番谈话。他提供的信息有助于我们了解安德鲁创立2U的详细过程：

During his time at Lehigh University, Andrew parlayed those professional relationships into a summer internship with the founding team of a tech startup called 2tor, Inc. (now 2U, Inc.). He was placed in charge of building the company’s formal internship program. As the summer drew to a close, the CEO invited him to join the company full-time.

在安德鲁就读于利哈伊大学的时候，他利用自己在职场上的人脉信息获得了一个暑期实习机会，他在这里开始和一个名为2tor（即后来的2U）创立团队合作。他负责的任务是创立该公司的正式实习项目，暑假结束的时候，该公司的首席执行官邀请他来公司做全职工作。

This ignited a dilemma. Andrew had to decide whether to drop out of college or head back to college. He chose his education and returned to Lehigh, but stayed close to 2U.

这一工作邀请使安德鲁面对一个两难的选择——他不得不在辍学和返回学业之间做出选择。他当时的决定是回到利哈伊大学，但他仍与2U公司保持着密切联系。

Today, Andrew’s work with 2U has culminated in a new program called Semester Online, which empowers students to choose between their education and their career. Semester Online, formed as a consortium of top colleges, offers high-quality classes for real college credit.

如今，安德鲁创立的新项目Semester Online标志着他在2U公司工作的卓越业绩。当学生们面临教育和事业的选择时，这个项目能够为他们提供强大助力。该项目构建了一个顶级高校的联盟，为学生提供可获学分的高质量课程。

2U’s Semester Online just took its educational network international with the addition of Trinity College Dublin, Ireland and the University of Melbourne, Australia. That means students in the U.S. can now access outstanding international educational opportunities — and college credit — from the comfort of their home or a local coffee shop.

爱尔兰的都柏林三一学院和澳大利亚的墨尔本大学刚刚加盟2U公司Semester Online项目的国际教育网络平台。这意味着美国的学生可以一边轻松的坐在家里或是当地的咖啡馆里，一边享受从知名国际院校接受教育的机会。

2U is truly leading a movement in transforming how we access education, and as Andrew’s story indicates, it has big implications for entrepreneurs. I’m excited to see the continued impact of its efforts.

2U公司堪称教育变革的领导者。并且，正如安德鲁的创业故事向我们启示的，企业家们可以从中找到巨大的以应用空间。我十分期待2U公司的新举措及其产生的新效应。