African Leadership College

The other day I went to my residence’s rooftop for one of my end-of-the-day reflections under the night sky. This is by far my most favorite time of the day as the sight of glimmering stars in the dark is mesmerizing, almost enchanting. My day had been no less eventful. Earlier in the day I attended one of our weekly meetups as a member of the poetry society. During the session we exchanged poems so that a different person would perform or read your poem.

It was the ultimate moment of vulnerability as you wouldn’t know if the other person would appreciate your efforts, value your work or understand your feelings. What happened afterwards, words can hardly describe. By stepping in each other’s shoes and trying to express their grief, love, happiness, loneliness, we allowed ourselves to be vulnerable with each other. Some people gained new friends, others bonded deeper than they ever did before.

More amazing, though, is the fact ALU is about moments like this. Just a few weeks before, we had a virtual bonfire at one of our residences where we shared things we were grateful for about each other. ALU is not just work and fun, it is a family. Here you have friends who are willing to push you out of your comfort zone and appreciate you for who you are, however unworthy or bad you may be feeling about yourself.

The effect it has had on me as an individual, blessed enough to be part of this community, is that I am not scared to try out new things, to express myself, to talk to a friend or ask for a hug when I need it. I can freely share my ideas without the fear of being judged, and I can count on my friends to be supportive as well as to give me honest and constructive feedback on how I can make my ideas or work better.

So if you are looking for a school that offers a safe space for growth, a place for you to understand who you are, where you are from and how much you are worth, a family, reliable friends, if you are ready to step out of your comfort zone, African Leadership University is the place for you.

ALU is not just a university. It is a family, not because of the student population, but as a result of our culture. Before coming to ALU, I was fidgeting because I was going to move from what I had known and called home for seventeen years - Nigeria - to an island that I only got to know of a few months before starting my application. I was a nervous wreck. Nevertheless, that didn’t hinder my excitement to interact, learn and live with some of the brightest young minds on the African continent who I was going to meet at ALU. I was, however, not oblivious of the challenges that such diversity may present. I was aware that such diversity in culture could either be a bane or a blessing.

When I finally arrived at ALU, I was immediately slapped with an overdose of exhilaration. I had never seen so much excitement from so many people at the same place and at the same time. The amount of talent that I saw in my fellow classmates every day inspired me to challenge my thinking and build myself everyday. Every day, I literally have to remind myself that I am abroad because I am surrounded by great minds who make me feel at home.

I thought that I was going to be picked on or marginalised because I was going to be among the youngest students (2 years younger than the average age of ALU students), but that was far from the case. I was made to feel like an equal, one who has equal intelligence to come up with creative ideas as my classmates who were three, four, or five years older than me. Equality and open-mindedness are two of the values that are held at highest reverence at ALU. This allows for a welcoming experience regardless of your race, age, gender, size, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or familial background.

The touch of paradise that the beautiful island of Mauritius adds to the equation sums up the home away from home experience that you will have at the African Leadership University.

Choosing to leave my university back home where I had been studying for two years and coming to ALU was not easy. After the experience I have had here, I can say that I do not regret that decision. ALU is more than just a university. ALU is a home of great minds who are ready to learn and to share. The culture and diversity is among the many things that make me enjoy my stay here. The learning model is one of a kind. We get to have peer-to-peer learning where we share and learn a lot. ALU appreciates different kinds of people and their talents and helps you grow and become the best in what you love.
Here at ALU, students engage in various activities such as Move sessions where we challenge our limits and push ourselves beyond what we think we can achieve in various sports. We get to explore Mauritius and learn new activities as we celebrate Mauritian holidays and culture. We have student-run initiatives like Poetry Society, where art is celebrated and appreciated. We have Drama club where students bring out their innermost talents in acting. In the music club students get to learn different types of musical instruments as well as perfect their vocal skills. We have a student-owned magazine, which I am part of, known as Banza Magazine. Banza Magazine tells stories of our continent from the various perspectives of our very own students.
Mauritius, on the other hand, is beyond awesome! I didn’t know how to swim when I came here and I wasn’t a huge fan of playing in water. However, during my third week of orientation, I stumbled upon a peer in our residential pool; he looked somewhat like a mermaid (I came to learn that he was doing the dolphin kick) and I thought that was the most beautiful thing the human body was capable of doing. Thereafter, he pledged to teach me how to swim and I’ve found a new hobby and somewhat of an obsession with swimming. One of the best things about Mauritius (apart from its abundance in beaches) is the weather, we are currently in the winter season but it isn’t cold at all. We still get to swim with the waves and discover different species of fish. I talk a lot about swimming because it has become an important part of who I am. My best friend started out as just a swimming partner and our relationship evolved into a tight bond.

As the sun sets behind the beautiful blue ocean, I sit transfixed as I watch the fiery ball disappear and the dark blue night sky begins to hide the presently orange and red colored sky.
It is day 26, a month has almost passed and my daily ritual of reflecting at the beach is one of my favorite activities. The small waves and cold water help me unwind. As they should. I mean, it is Mauritius: an island known as a holiday destination. A constant reminder are the couples who take evening walks, or the families who build sand castles together, laughing and talking as they work. It’s a great place to be. I look out into the horizon one last time, stand up and head back to the student housing.
Why am I on this Island? I am going to university; the best university I know. What makes it so great, it’s not the engaging relevant courses that are there to build us as leaders. It’s not the real time work experience I experience. Nor is it the diverse and friendly environment. It is great because of all these elements simultaneously exist on Mauritius.
The courses cut across important learning points like critical thinking to time management. We learn how to communicate ideas and are given platforms to express these ideas.
In class we have discovery sessions where we uncover our next topic and then dig deep in our personal work to learn more about the topic. After which we have discussions with our peers to consolidate all the information we collected. Lastly, we present to the rest of the class and our facilitators.
Work experience builds our teamwork communication and working methods with people from different countries. We work with real companies on real projects to have a feel of a working environment out of school.
Diverse cultures and backgrounds adds into the richness of class sessions and team projects, we get to learn about how people from other countries tackle problems and find solutions. I am always interested when my colleagues talk about an experience they had back home. I connect more to their story than if I had just read about it online. It breaks borders and stereotypes about a particular place or region.
Our community is friendly and, most importantly, fun! When the word FUN is part of your learning cycle, you best believe that it will be present. We have activities such as MOVE that expect us to move in any way, whether it be dance or sports, to keep us healthy and active.
Each stage of my learning has its ups and downs but ultimately it is an exciting process, and at the end of each day, I get to go back to my favorite spot and watch the sun go down.

ALC is, in a word, unique. ALC is a unique institution, with a unique curriculum and a unique crop of intelligent students, taught by a unique faculty, under the leadership of a unique individual, on a unique island, with the aim of preparing the next generation of unique leaders!

Learning is fun at ALC. Obviously, we do not learn like a normal traditional university where the lecturers are the ones who actually do everything in class and where you listen to boring lectures from old professors. Like many people say, students take ownership! Classes in ALC are conversational, thought- provoking and very engaging. There’s no day I’ll wake up and feel like not going to class. Classes are fun and fulfilling. For every foundational core course we begin each week, we have the discovery session where we perform an experiential. From building high towers with marshmallows and sticks in an Entrepreneurial Leadership class to creating a 45 seconds advert for our imagined businesses in a Projects class, we are made to think critically and find out what the week will look like for that specific unit. When we get back to our dorms, we go through the self-work (assignment) and submit the deliverables as required. Learning is self-paced at ALC. Then we go into peer sessions where we share our ideas and work with our assigned peers. During these informal sessions, we have the opportunity to talk to our peers and engage in insightful discussions that would further enable us understand that particular unit. Later in the week, we go for a class session where the rough edges get smoothed and whatever we don’t understand get attended to.

But wait! You cannot afford to come to this beautiful island and only study and do academic related activities. In fact, the staffs at ALC wouldn’t even allow that. We get to enjoy ourselves and “unplug”, as many students say. There are lots of fun things to do. Either going to the beach to chill out and play volleyball, going to the field to play soccer, going to a nearby restaurant or café, having a movie night in one of the students’ residences or even going for tours within the island, ALC is the right place to be and Mauritius is the most compatible country for it!

We also have lots of extracurricular activities and student run ventures. You only need to be here to see and experience what ALC’s brilliant minds are capable of!

If you’ve decided to come here, then get ready! You're going to have the most exciting experience of your life! :)