Dean of students converged at Iwawe Hotel on December 10 for a workshop that aimed at introducing a new leadership programme. The workshop was organised by LEAD Transformation Initiative Rwanda in partnership with American Embassy and AIESEC Rwanda.

Vincent Kalimba, LEAD’s vice country representative, said the programme was formed as a way of giving back to the community through identifying the need in society and finding possible solutions through different ideas from university student leaders and stakeholders.

He added that leaders will be trained more on headship and a council will be elected to help channel ideas. Different topics will be discussed and experts will be invited to be part of the discussions.

Kalimba noted that, for instance, if the topic is about politics, political leaders will be part of it, if it focuses on entrepreneurship, entrepreneurs will be present to widen the understanding on any given topic put across and exhaust it until perfect solutions are acquired.

The leadership programme focuses on creating leaders of today, for the future, it also centres on exposure, creating and expanding businesses and most importantly, networking with a purpose.

Through the partnerships, student leaders will be able to access internship and placements through different partners. This will enable them acquire the right tools to make an impact in Rwanda and Africa at large. At this stage, companies will be the ones searching for these leaders for the knowledge that they will be equipped with, Kalimba stated.

He said that the leaders will be required to go back to their institutions or universities and apply the skills they learnt, thus becoming LEAD members and sharing their experience with the society.

"Such skilled leaders are the kind we need for tomorrow, we need leaders who will address issues of the community with empathy, effectiveness, and a sense of responsibility” Kalimba said.

He stressed that LEAD is looking forward to engaging the Ministry of Education, entrepreneurs, youth, and Private Sector in order to share experiences and link them to the development of Rwanda. By doing so, Africa will be shaped.

Austin Femi Titilayo, the co-founder and director of LEAD, said that the programme’s purpose is to develop student leadership. Student leaders have to meet and give accountability of plans made as this will help them feel responsible and careful.

He has high hopes that the programme will be effective in Rwanda because it worked in Nigeria, where 25 schools were able to get the training and benefit from it.

The programme will help young leaders step up their game, get involved in innovation, creativity, and opportunities, Titilayo said.

"Since our organisation empowers youth leaders, we believe that this is the safest platform to make an impact on Rwandan youth,” explained Emmanuel Boakye Ababio, the country director, AIESEC Rwanda.

The pilot study of the programme was carried out at Akilah Institute Rwanda.

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