A new executive programme in partnership with INSEAD

Delivered in partnership with INSEAD, one of the world’s leading and largest graduate business schools, Strategic Leadership in Africa is a brand new executive education programme for African executives, that integrates global insights into strategy, leadership and team-building with deep knowledge, experience and research on the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Africa. 

We sat down with ALU School of Business (ALUSB) Vice Dean Catherine Duggan, who led the Strategic Leadership in Africa (SLA) programme development from the ALUSB side, to tell us more about this world-class initiative

 

What sets Strategic Leadership in Africa apart? 

“The best of both worlds”

“One thing that’s unique about this SLA programme is that it will integrate INSEAD’s offerings as one of the global leaders in executive education with ALUSB’s deep expertise in Africa. Participants will get the best of both worlds: global perspective from one of the top business schools in the world, together with Africa context, focus, and experience from an innovative, truly pan-African business school.

I’m especially excited about this programme because it is the product of a true partnership between the ALUSB and INSEAD faculty and staff. From the beginning we agreed that we wanted something developed specifically for the African market, rather than something that was bolted together from pieces of programmes designed for other markets. 

As a result, I think participants will find that SLA is a learning experience that is integrated, practical, and relevant to the challenges (and opportunities) that they are facing right now in African markets. It will also give them a chance to think about where African markets fit into the global economy and how they can best position themselves and their organisations for what we like to call the African Century”.

 

Who is Strategic Leadership in Africa for?

“Senior managers and decision-makers”

“One of the most exciting things about SLA is that it is really designed for people who are helping their organisations to thrive in the rapidly-growing (and rapidly-changing!) pan-regional and pan-African market. I think that the ideal participant in this programme is, first and foremost, a person who is thinking about this common set of challenges, rather than a person with a specific CV.

We’ve found that this type of executive education programme is perfect for people who have recently been placed in a position to guide and grow their organisations across borders or in particularly challenging environments. People in these positions have often recently moved from leading a functional area into the senior leadership team and now need to be able to think strategically at very high levels, lead across organisational areas, and develop a deep understanding of the context of doing business in one or more countries on the continent. A programme like this is also excellent for people who are expecting to make such a transition into senior leadership.”

We’re looking for participants who have already had significant professional success and who can bring and share their insights and experience. The dynamic and participant-focused nature of the programme, combined with an accomplished and diverse group of participants, really allows us to leverage the insights of the group itself and makes for a much richer and more practical learning experience than a more traditional lecture format. 

One of the best things about any programme is the networks and relationships it helps to create. SLA will bring together a group of some of the most exciting leaders from across the continent, all of whom are looking to expand their networks and meet people facing similar issues across Africa. 

As a result, this programme is also perfect for people who have already gotten an MBA elsewhere, or who are now too senior to consider an MBA degree. Rather than delving into the functional, technical skills of an MBA, this programme will focus on the issues of leadership and high-level strategic thinking that become more and more important at the highest rungs of business”.

 

Please describe the Strategic Leadership in Africa curriculum.

“An integrated, problem-focused curriculum” 

“SLA offers an integrated curriculum with four angles: Understanding Strategic Challenges in Africa, Building High-Performing Teams in Diverse Environments, Understanding the Context of Doing Business in Africa and Developing Leadership Skills for a Changing World. 

The curriculum is designed to be as practical and relevant as possible, even as we talk about cutting-edge theories and approaches to handling business challenges. One of the ways we’ve done that is by creating a programme in which the elements are integrated, much as they are in the real world, rather than divided into separate “courses.”  

Both the INSEAD and ALUSB faculty teaching in the programme are committed to a problem-based approach. In some sessions this will mean exploring real-world cases faced by organisations in Africa; in others it will involve working through the actual challenges that the participants are facing. In every opportunity the programme will provide tools and analytical techniques to help manage both the challenges at hand and the ones participants may face in the future. 

Even the logistics of the programme are designed to be as practical as possible while adding value for participants. It combines two in-person modules in Kigali, Rwanda (each approximately 4 days long), with an online “intermodular” period during which participants will work through some of the challenges they are facing in a systematic way.  They will also be eligible to take selected online courses (at no additional cost) to review or develop key skills”. 

 

Strategic Leadership in Africa launches in February 2020.  Please click here to find out more about this exciting new programme!

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