Sir Richard Branson said “from little acorns, oak trees grow” as he launched a free-to-access online university with courses to help people with dyslexia learn more about their dyslexic thinking skills and to help non-dyslexic people learn about dyslexic thinking.
The term “dyslexic thinking” refers to how such minds process information in divergent, creative and lateral ways, and Sir Richard hopes the courses will help dyslexics and non-dyslexics alike to learn more about these skills.
Launched by global charity Made By Dyslexia and Sir Richard, 74, DyslexicU, dubbed the “world’s first University of Dyslexic Thinking”, will offer free online and on-demand courses.
The initiative was launched by Virgin’s Sir Richard, and Kate Griggs, founder of Made By Dyslexia, in New York, alongside guests including Princess Beatrice and space scientist Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock, who are both dyslexic.
Sir Richard, who is dyslexic, told PA news agency: “It’s the birth of something which I think could be useful for people who are dyslexic, but not just people who are dyslexic.”
He also spoke about what he said was a “wonderful change in the last few decades”, saying: “If you go back to when I was young, people definitely didn’t celebrate being dyslexic or having a dyslexic child.
“I don’t actually think they knew the word dyslexia … soon after I left school, the word dyslexia came into being and parents panicked, and kids therefore panicked.
“And now you turn the clock forward and I think Kate and Made By Dyslexia have done such a wonderful job on this, people celebrate having a dyslexic kid.
“So, it’s been a wonderful change in the last few decades.
“I think with AI, it’s suddenly giving dyslexics another whole new boost, because they’re going to be able to do things that non-dyslexic kids will find slightly more difficult to do, and so AI is going to play a very important part in the world.”
He explained: “This doesn’t apply to every single kid, but by and large dyslexic kids are more creative. They’re better, I think, at solving problems. We have to be more resilient because we generally have had a tough time when we’re young in conventional education.
“Those are the sorts of skills that you need, that people who are running AI companies need.”
DyslexicU’s launch follows Made By Dyslexia’s Intelligence 5.0 report, with research commissioned by YouGov, which surveyed 5,000 people across the US, UK, India and Australia.
Griggs told PA news agency that the report “very clearly shows that as we’ve moved into the fifth industrial revolution, where artificial intelligence (AI) and human intelligence is working side by side, the intelligence that the world needs is dyslexic thinking skills.”
She added: “The top skills that the global recruitment company Randstad found within the report, they’ve done some research looking at what are the top skills needed in every workplace in every sector worldwide, and it is dyslexic thinking skills.
“The idea of the university is that we’re going to teach people dyslexic thinking.
“If you’re dyslexic, you’ll be able to watch the courses, and it’ll help you to realise how you think and why how you think is so valuable.
“And if you’re not dyslexic, it will enable you to understand how dyslexic people think, the skills that the world needs, and how you too can develop them.”
Hosted by The Open University, courses so far include Entrepreneurs & Start-Up Mentality and Changemakers & Activism, with many more planned.
Sir Richard and Made By Dyslexia previously collaborated with LinkedIn to recognise “dyslexic thinking” as a valuable skill. It has also been recognised as a noun in the dictionary.
He said of DyslexicU: “It’s a very small start, but from little acorns, oak trees grow.
“I’m looking forward to watching Kate and the team growing beautiful, beautiful oak trees out of all this.”
