A YEAR on from its foundation, Glasgow Caledonian University’s ambitious scheme to help develop a new generation of ethical leaders across Africa has recorded its first successes.
Some 170 students will now move on to undergraduate honours degree courses after completing a year at the African Leadership College on Mauritius.
The island was chosen to host the college, of which Glasgow Caled- onian (GCU) is the founding academic partner, because it is a safe, stable country off the coast of Africa, with a democratic government aiming to establish the country as an education hub for the whole continent.
Students from about 30 African countries took part in the first year of work at the college, the first in a network of African higher education institutions planned by the African Leadership University (ALC).
The university will eventually have multiple campuses adopting new and innovative approaches to higher education, closely linked with employers from across the globe.
Its Ambassador Chancellor is Dr Graça Machel, the widow of former South African president Nelson Mandela and also of Mozambican president Samora Machel.
GCU is delivering programmes at ALC to develop leadership and entrepreneurial thinking, producing graduates with the knowledge and skills to help shape the future success of the continent and address significant skills shortages.
The ALC students were met by their GCU counterparts, including student president Lauren Ramage, who had travelled to Mauritius to gain an understanding of life and study in Africa.
Ramage said: “The aim of the study trip was to establish a partnership between GCU and ALC students, so that future and further long-term exchanges can occur between the institutions. It was, without doubt, the most incredible and inspirational week of my life and I hope we can continue this fantastic partnership.”
A further eight GCU under- graduate students went to Mauritius, selected via a competitive applic- ation process and backed by GCU’s Common Good fund, which supports mobility.
BA Social Sciences student Jayde Marie O’Connor said: “The trip made me realise that many issues are the same cross-culturally and that we are all humans with basic functions and needs, regardless of language and culture. Without a scholarship, the chance to study somewhere like Mauritius would never have been accessible to someone of my socioeconomic status.”
Professor Valerie Webster, GCU’s deputy vice-chancellor academic, said: “As ALC’s founding academic partner, GCU is proud to be involved in educating a new generation of ethical leaders for the African continent.
“The success of the partnership so far is testament to the commitment of all involved staff who have embraced the vision for the partnership and GCU’s ethos of 'the University for the Common Good'. I am equally delighted to see that the partnership is already beginning to inspire our own students.”
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