On track to produce ethical African leaders

The African Leadership University or ALU made headlines in 2016 when it announced it planned to produce three million ethical and entrepreneurial African leaders by 2035. University World News spoke to Christopher Williams, president of the ALU, about progress towards this – and other plans.

UWN: The African Leadership University started in 2015 with a campus in Mauritius and later opened a campus in Rwanda in 2017. What has been your experience of these campuses so far?

Williams: Our first five years of existence have been very successful. Our vision of producing three million ethical and entrepreneurial leaders for Africa remains strong. We currently have over 1,300 students enrolled on the two campuses. A total of 184 students have graduated from our Mauritius undergraduate campus and 88 from our Rwanda Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme. By 2021 we shall have added 104 MBA students and 230 undergraduate students.

Our students have gone on to work for global and African companies, in graduate programmes at Oxford and some have launched their own ventures, for example, Tutoo+, an online skills delivery platform. In the space of five years, our vision has earned us accolades around the world.

Because of a new strategic partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, we are anticipating an enrolment of over 700 students in 2020. Our unique model of focusing our students on missions rather than majors is well on track and we expect it to expand in the next year.

We are confidently looking forward to the future based on this promising progress.

UWN: Why did you choose to focus on leadership while other universities are shifting to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses?

Williams: ALU was founded in response to Africa’s population boom. ALU plans to address the shortage of effective ethical and entrepreneurial leaders by contributing to the three million leaders that Africa will need by 2035.

UWN: Who are you targeting as future leaders and what is ALU offering them?

Williams: ALU seeks students across the African continent and abroad. Today the student body is represented by over 40 pan-African and international nationalities. Our target ranges from students who require scholarships to those seeking partial financial aid grants and those who are full fee-paying students or are corporate-sponsored. We offer bachelor degree programmes on our Mauritius and Rwanda campuses and MBA and Masters of Management degrees in our Rwandan graduate School of Business.

UWN: How does ALU ensure students will meet the requirements to become impactful leaders?

Williams: We will train students to meet the continent’s greatest challenges and opportunities. These include: job creation, urbanisation, agriculture, governance, natural resource management, education, healthcare, wildlife conservation, climate change, regional integration, art, design and culture, tourism, infrastructure and empowerment of women.

Students pursue self-directed studies and fieldwork and are encouraged to follow postgraduate programmes or take up full-time roles in their missions of interest.

UWN: What is ALU's long-term strategy with regard to increasing student numbers and improving infrastructure?

Williams: In 2020 we will enrol our largest incoming class yet. Our aggressive recruiting strategy includes reaching out to communities and high schools and creating marketing partnerships using digital methods. We will continue to recruit most aggressively in the continent but will also target students from outside Africa. Digital infrastructure will be a key component of our outreach and education delivery.

UWN: Why did you choose to have your campuses in both Rwanda and Mauritius?

Williams: Both countries are committed to higher education as a growth area and are supportive of innovative models that are contextualised for Africa. They offer significant ease of doing business and are committed to attracting broad-based sector investments which complement ALU’s mission focus. Rwanda and Mauritius have friendly international policies. They provide stable environments which are ideal for our pan-African and international student body.

UWN: How are you coping with the effects of COVID-19 on ALU?

Williams: COVID-19 unexpectedly impacted our operations but has not disrupted them. The pandemic showed up our strength when we had to evacuate our campuses in 48 hours and shift to online instruction in about a week. Our students and faculty rallied to support one another with the mantra of ‘no one left behind’ and the attitude that the work of the university must continue.

We suspended the business school graduation and shifted MBA intensives online. Undergraduate campuses were closed and students repatriated in March. We resumed coursework by taking it online in May and made necessary adjustments to assessment.

ALU provided support with finances and internet connectivity to students, faculty and support staff.

We started the new academic year with online teaching for the entire university. Coursework was redesigned and online tools purchased to this purpose. Financial aid grants were awarded to returning students.

We are planning to return to in-person teaching for the entire university in January 2021.

COVID-19 was a challenge but we have taken it in our stride, and it is driving re-imagination of how we evolve in the future.

UWN: Where does the university access financial resources to operate?

Williams: The university is funded mainly from student fees and the generosity of our donors around the world. While we continue to work towards new revenue generation alternatives, we will continue to rely on fees and fundraising as our primary sources of income.

UWN: How does the university promote corporate responsibility services?

Williams: ALU strives for impact beyond our university community. Our students have transitioned into internships and full-time roles, infusing perspectives and skills acquired at the university. The university has trained non-student leaders in the public and private sectors through its executive partnerships.

UWN: How is ALU equipped to produce ethical leaders?

Williams: The ALU student experience is designed to create strong ethical leaders. The entire first year consists of a Leadership Core programme in which students explore their own leadership identities.

The remaining years in the degree programme are focused on seven meta-skills, designed to create self-aware and intentional leaders. Fieldwork and internships in the community form a significant part of this experience. Our campus life is governed by a strong mission and values-based university culture and code of conduct.