Similar to many other certification courses, the courses do expire. Once you have received your certification, it is valid for 2 years. The reason for this is to 1) ensure you are up to date with the latest science and education on molecular hydrogen as it is a fast-moving field with a lot of misinformation and 2) to sustain the nonprofit as the courses are the main source of revenue.
Let’s dig a little bit more into these reasons.
Where did MHI start?
MHI was established as a website in 2013 to help educate the public on molecular hydrogen. Several articles were written to break down the concepts for the non-scientist, and it gained quite a bit of traction. MHI founder, Dr. LeBaron started speaking on molecular hydrogen at various events, for free, around the world. In fact, he paid to get to these conferences. Why? Because he has a passion for health, science, education, and wellbeing.
Read/watch a note from the founder here
In 2015, MHI transitioned into a nonprofit under the name “Molecular Hydrogen Foundation”. In 2019, the name transitioned back to Molecular Hydrogen Institute. The nonprofit, consisting of an advisory council and executive director, Dr. LeBaron, continued to pursue research partnerships and present the research findings at various conferences.
Unfortunately, the nonprofit didn’t bring in sufficient revenue during this time to even pay for website hosting and basic expenses. This means all of the work up until 2023 was essentially volunteer work. Dr. LeBaron knew the nonprofit needed revenue to further its mission. So he reached out to May Anderson, his sister, a well-respected civil engineer who also had dabbled in nonprofit work and other various business ventures to help him get his courses online to bring in revenue.
The History of Writing the Courses
Dr. LeBaron had been working on writing these courses since before 2015 when he first launched the MHI (then MHF) certification exams. In 2022, he knew it was time to revamp these courses and launch them officially because of the huge benefit they were and would continue to provide to the industry in stopping the spread of misinformation. Even still, it took over a year to launch H2 Advisor, the first level of the certification courses.
Writing a science-based course is difficult because you can’t just say whatever sounds good. You really have to word things perfectly to make sure the courses aren’t misunderstood, accidentally spreading more misinformation. Everything must be supported by the primary scientific literature, not popular public opinion, not books or exciting podcasts, or “cherry-picking” only the articles that support a position. These courses must be mainstream scientific thinking akin to what you would learn at accredited universities.
What happened when the courses launched?
Once the courses were launched, they started bringing in some revenue. The nonprofit could finally pay for its own domain hosting fees and bookkeeping fees! These courses have benefitted many people already in helping them understand the scientific concepts behind molecular hydrogen, and in turn, the revenue from these courses is making the nonprofit self-sustaining so it can further the mission of advancing the research of, educating on, and spreading awareness of molecular hydrogen’s therapeutic potential.
The Courses Expire – why?
As with most professional-level certifications, the MHI certification also expires. We tend to forget most of what we learn within a few days without constant repetition (see Fig 1). This means within 1-2 years, essentially everything might be forgotten. Many of us have had that experience from our days in school, we learned something so well and could not fathom ever forgetting it. Then years later we are asked a simple question, and we don’t know the answer!
Figure 1. Typical forgetting curve. (Woolliscroft, 2020)
This is one of the reasons why MHI requires a recertification. Having an MHI certification is very valuable and something people should take seriously, and so we want to ensure those who have the prized certification correctly remember the scientific principles and facts that are shared in these courses.
Additionally, the recertification also directly helps the mission of MHI by assisting with our revenue needs. MHI is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, but we do not receive large philanthropic donations so the revenue is nearly exclusively from “program revenue” such as these educational certification courses.
Requiring people to retake the exam every 2 years will help reduce misinformation, allow MHI an opportunity to educate on the recent findings regarding molecular hydrogen, and lastly, help people continue to be a part of the MHI family and its mission. Despite the need for the revenue, the courses are greatly discounted for recertification. Some may choose to make a donation to MHI in addition to the discounted recertification fee, which is greatly appreciated.
What do you think about this process? Why is it important to you to be recertified and for MHI to use this method to generate its revenue needs? We are also open to any suggestions for how we can help ensure that those who have been certified still retain the knowledge required to be a valid MHI certification holder, and how MHI can increase its revenue to help fulfill its mission. If you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comments.
