Tribute To A Visionary

More than seven centuries back in time, out of the dark ages, emerged a young student from Venice on the journey of a lifetime. It was a rich and exotic journey few have ever dreamed of, never mind taken. It was an extraordinarily exciting and perilous world class adventure that would wind its way slowly along the Silk Road to China and into the minds of countless millions. 

Marco Polo was born circa 1254 to the wife of a Venetian trader. His is a story of life long learning – one that continues to inform, educate, and inspire, even after mankind set foot on the moon! 

Young Marco joined his father and uncle as they set out from Venice on a journey to the orient, experiencing all of the exotic lands and cultures along the way. This rich learning experience, that our adventurous young man would later share with the world, was, from the beginning, no dull boring trip into the land of Lecture and Test! Today’s Marco Polo International University, MPIU, celebrates experiential learning and is focused on exposing its students, from the beginning, to the concomitant higher levels of learning that have always been the hallmark of classic education. 

One can only conjecture about the rich learning dynamic that resulted from the close relationship, constant exposure, and guidance from Marco’s two sophisticated mentors. It is difficult to imagine a learning experience, designed by any educator, that would provide a greater opportunity to develop critical, creative, and innovative thinking ability in a student. 

In fact, it was, in part, the early sophistication and reliable collaborative ability demonstrated by young Marco Polo, which came from his intense hands on immersion into the functional realm of critical thinking, that attracted the attention of the most powerful leader of that time, the great Kublai Kahn. 

Marco Polo International University pays tribute to the singular vision and genius of Marco Polo and his direct link to one area of learning that is particularly emphasized by MPIU--fostering the critical thinking skills of its students. Not only does MPIU foster critical thinking skills, but it also promotes the exchange of ideas in a methodology that has been used in high quality classic education since the time of Socrates and Plato. 

Marco Polo and his companions spent many years employed in the service of this great Mongolian leader, often carrying out delicate and important missions in and around their own merchant trading exploits. One such trusted mission was to escort a member of Kublai Kahn’s own family to the home of her fiancé in Persia. During his 17 years in the orient, Marco Polo exercised his world vision traveling extensively in China, Burma, Tibet, and other outlying areas throughout Asia, conducting trade business for his family business. 

Similarly, MPIU has a larger vision and has not restricted itself to the anachronistic and very common brick-and-mortar status of other universities. MPIU is a 100% online university, making its higher vision and classic educational purpose accessible by people throughout much of the entire world, in such regions as Latin America, Asia-Pacific, India, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, without the normal socio-political-economic barriers. 

When Marco returned to Venice, his beloved city was at war with Genoa, another Italian city-state. Marco Polo answered his city’s call to service. The boat on which he was assigned was captured by the Genoese causing him to spend time as a political prisoner in a Genoese prison. It was during this period of time as a prisoner of war that he enlisted the help of a fellow writer, who assisted Marco in the creation of his hugely important classic, his legacy to the world, Travels of Marco Polo. He died in Venice in 1324. His book was translated into most languages, and thus Marco left a wealth of information including cartographical information which has proven remarkably accurate by modern methods of testing. His observations about the local customs he encountered in his travels have also been verified by subsequent research.