Stories

SDG10: Project Access changes lives of students from less privileged backgrounds

“Curbing inequality is fundamentally important for us to function as a society. " Emil Bender-Lassen, CEO and co-founder of Project Access International.

13.03.2020.

Time to meet Project Access, the amazing group of enthusiasts who help students from less privileged backgrounds apply to top universities. Read their story:

What is the problem you are solving?

In a world where the poorest 10 percent of people hold onto as little as 2 percent of global income, the need for a drastic rethinking of how we structure of societies appears all but obvious. At the most basic level, it’s much about ensuring that people are connected with opportunities, and one of the most important ways we can do that is by ensuring equitable access to education.

Universities perpetuate economic inequalities, and the literature is even clearer for the choosier ‘Yales’ and ‘Oxbridges’ of the world. “If you look to the government, the UN, the banks and the executive suites of the largest companies in the world, it is particularly clear that a top university education is a thing most people in these roles have in common.” says Emil Bender-Lassen, a fresh-faced entrepreneur from Middelfart, Denmark and CEO of Project Access International. “Our theory of change is centered around the idea that if we can diversify top universities and tackle these inequalities, it will ultimately lead to tackling inequalities in access to global roles of leadership.”

What is Project Access?

Project Access International provides a free online peer-to-peer mentoring platform that connects applicants with existing students to help them navigate the application journey to the very best US and UK universities. An initial screening process first ensures that the team can pool their resources around the people most in need of help before a custom algorithm intelligently pairs mentees with mentors. People are matched based upon desired universities or courses (or in ideal cases, both) from the organization’s list of ‘target universities’, a carefully curated list drawn from both sides of the Atlantic including the universities of Cambridge, Durham, Yale and MIT to name but a few. Access to a range of learning modules for each stage of the application also provides the sorts of insights so sorely missing from the arsenals of disadvantaged students.

“We try to tackle 3 different barriers to top universities” continues Emil. “The first being that too few students from less privileged backgrounds apply to top universities because they have no role models inspiring and motivating them to apply; the second being that they are not supported with their applications and therefore face a jungle of information when they begin; the third being that there's no one supporting them between when they may get offers and arrival day, which results in too many students never even enrolling.”

How Did You Get Started?

Before Project Access, founder Emil had already begun making himself known further afield, becoming the first-ever undergraduate student in their first year to secure an internship with consultancy colossus McKinsey & Co. and earning the title of ‘Global Shaper’ from the World Economic Forum for his work in climate advocacy projects. When he co-founded Project Access back in 2016, and again when he and COO, Raphael Eder, decided to make it a full-time endeavor, they both knew their lives would take a very different direction. The organization now consists of over 250 passionate volunteers from across the globe, each working to realize the ambitions of those first original members.

Is it Working?

Yes, in short. According to the charity’s latest statistics, 63% of mentees using the platform twice or more receive an offer from a world-leading university (compared with the average 15%). And unlike its main competitors in the field, like expensive private coaching agencies and Summer School placements, Project Access’ service is completely free to its users as part of its commitment to tearing down barriers to education. “Curbing inequality is fundamentally important for us to function as a society. With equal access to opportunity comes more diverse global leadership and in Project Access, we strongly believe that the world is best led by people representing it. In other words, we think that the people who are most motivated to solve the challenges our society is facing today are the people who have experienced these challenges first-hand.” concluded Emil Bender-Lassen, CEO and co-founder of Project Access International.

Stay in touch: https://projectaccess.org/