The inaugural graduation of the African Leadership University School of Business (ALUSB) took place Saturday in Kigali. The university has a sister campus in Mauritius though that one is currently offering undergraduate programmes only. It is a unique learning experience that seeks to unlock the potential of many young people. It demystifies the whole learning circle by doing away with lectures. The interactive sessions are student-driven, learning at their own pace and from their peers and successful professionals. Prominent African entrepreneurs find time to share notes and experiences with the future business professionals. The kind of insights they get from operators in the real world far outweighs textbook theories. They get the real thing. It is one of those “big dreams come true” syndromes and perhaps the choice of Kigali as one of their campuses was not just an afterthought. As the founder of the University Fred Swaniker said, they wanted the students to experience leadership and transformation, and that there was no better case study than Rwanda. Getting a hands-on world class education that develops result-driven and problem-solving approaches is what will propel this continent forward. The approach to solving an individual country’s problems needs to be tailor-made as there is no template. That is what ALUSB is trying to prove; practical approach to understanding a problem in order to solve it, not copy and paste, is what is needed, for not every hand fits the glove.
