Notes From The Road: African or Global? That isn’t the question
One of the first things I see when I disembark the plane at Mumbai airport is a massive billboard with the words: “Indian at heart. Global in Spirit.” This — perhaps somewhat unexpectedly, since I am miles away from Africa — immediately makes me think of ALU. As ALU has grown and evolved over the past years and months, we have increasingly asked ourselves the question: “Are we African, or are we global?” We have come to realise that in a day and age where the world is more and more global and interconnected, the question isn’t so much “are we African or global”, but “how can we be both?” The two are not mutually exclusive — on the contrary — so how can we make sure that they complement and strengthen each other? How can we embrace and celebrate being proudly African as well as being global? How can we be relevant and make a difference to the African continent, as well as to the world? And how do we show the world that what we do is of undeniable global importance? How can we be “African at heart, global in spirit”?
Being out on the road spreading the word about ALU in places where we are still largely unknown is not without challenges. Not only are we a new, non-traditional and unconventional university that not many people have heard of, we’re also based on a continent that is not exactly associated internationally with being a hub for Higher Education. From previous experience I know that bringing a whole new university into the world often meets with one of two reactions: scepticism or belief. There’s not much in the middle. The skeptics will oftentimes not even hear you out — they are so firmly rooted in the convention of tradition that there is no space to consider alternatives. The believers on the other hand are the people where, once they find out more about you, something just simply ‘clicks’ — they may not have heard of you before but when they do, they become instant supporters. What is incredibly rewarding on this journey is that the “believers” I encounter by far outnumber the “skeptics”, and it feels like wherever I go, I am leaving behind a trail of inspiration. I wish I could say it’s me, but it’s not — I’m just a messenger, and it is evident that the message I am sharing is powerful, relevant and necessary — not just to Africa, but to the world. From inner-city secondary schools in the swarming streets of Mumbai where I address courtyard assemblies of captivated students, to the confusing campus of Hong Kong University where I manage to get embarrassingly lost on my way to the Provost’s office, to a high profile conference in Singapore where I deliver a keynote to an audience of educational thought-leaders from around the world — once people hear about us, they are inspired and engaged — whether they are students, teachers, counsellors, school-directors, provosts, administrators, consultants, journalists, politicians, thought-leaders, investors, waiters, taxi-drivers, baristas, random passengers on trains — or frankly, any stranger who ends up on my path, as I simply talk about ALU to anyone who wants to listen.
One thing that is becoming very clear as I am meeting students and counsellors across continents and countries is that the shifts in the current global geopolitical climate have a significant effect on the choices students make when pursuing further education — and on the global education space at large. There’s an increasing demand not just for new and innovative models of higher education, but also for new destinations. Whilst the US and the UK have historically been (and still are) by far the most popular international study destinations, we’re now starting to see a shift to alternative places and geographies. One Danish student I meet at UWC Mahindra College in India tells me “It is about time that people start seriously considering and looking for universities outside of the US”. Of all the university reps visiting Mahindra on a continuous basis, I am actually the only one she wants to meet with.
The traditional model of education was developed to be relevant to a world we no longer live in. There is a real need for innovation in education — and, whilst many universities around the world recognise this and are doing their best to innovate within the limitations and boundaries of the legacies they carry and systems they need to sustain — it’s very hard to make changes to something that already exists and is so firmly rooted in a discourse that has continued for centuries. It’s in fact much easier to build something from scratch , and to say — how do we create something that is relevant to the 21st century, to today’s world, to today’s students, and to today’s employers? Which is exactly what ALU has done and is doing.
There is no other continent in the world that is better placed to lead on this innovation than Africa. There is also no continent in the world that is better placed to prepare the next generation of world leaders. More than half of the global young workforce will be in Africa by 2035, and in another 10 or so years after that, 25 % of the entire world population will live in Africa. What better place is there to address global challenges, and to develop global 21st century skills, than Africa? An Indian student I meet in Singapore tells me she sees Africa as “a land of the greatest opportunity, and a bundle of potential resources” — and she’s absolutely right.
I stated earlier how rewarding it is to be able to be an inspiration to many of the students and other people I meet on the road. But I’d like to conclude by stressing how they in turn are an inspiration to me. Bright, thoughtful, out of the box-thinking students that blow me away with their levels of maturity and perspective. Likeminded school-directors and counsellors with whom instant friendships are cemented through shared stories and common convictions, even though we come from different worlds and places. Perhaps what we all have in common is a sense of shared ownership of our future, and a firm belief that we can somehow make a difference.
