Intercultural Open University Foundation

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Intercultural Open University Foundation is an international not for profit charitable organization that provides distance learning courses to master's and PhD students. IOUF offers dual degree programs in association with Universidad Azteca and its partner the Universidad Central de Nicaragua (UCN). Upon successful completion of the course, students are awarded with the Doctor of Philosophy, PhD degree in consortium with UAzteca and UCN.

The faculty and staff of IOUF contribute their time on a volunteer basis. To promote the higher education in developing countries, a limited number of scholarships are provided. The scholarship program was begun by the founders of the Intercultural Open University Foundation, Jan R. Hakemulder and Fay A.C. DeJonge. Jan Hakemulder was an academician who worked on the development programs designed to help the world's poor as an educational consultant for UNICEF. He and his wife, Fay A.C. DeJonge wrote about many subjects such as journalism, the media and ethics, alternative education, distance education and peace and non-violence studies.

The Intercultural Open University Foundation is registered as a non-profit foundation in the United States and maintains offices in Arden, Delaware and Granada, Spain. Although it originally obtained registration as a foundation in the Netherlands, it no longer maintains offices in that country, having transferred its European headquarters to Spain in August, 2011, but it still remains registered as a Dutch juridical person. IOUF has been assessed and validated by the European Commission's HEXTLEARN Peer Review and Study (particularly in respect to its use of ICT) and is a member of international educational organizations such as European Distance and E-learning Network (EDEN), European Foundation for Quality in e-Learning (EFQUEL).

As a charitable foundation, IOUF is an independent legal entity with a stated mission of serving the public interest through higher education and research. Its status as a not-for-profit organization confers favorable tax status on activities undertaken in pursuit of Foundation goals.