African Leadership in ICT (ALICT)
African Leadership in ICT (ALICT) Course
Building leadership skills for social and economic development in Africa
Call for applicants to ALICT course has been extended to February 10th 2012. Download application forms here!
About ALICT
African Leadership in ICT (ALICT) is an African Union Commission initiative, supported by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and implemented by GESCI (Founded by the UN ICT Task Force).
Rationale for ALICT course
Policy incoherence and misalignment in the Education, ICT, Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) sectors, and a lack of effective leadership to address this issue, has been identified as one of the greatest obstacles to the development of knowledge societies in Africa. Socio-economic development depends on well developed and implementable Education, ICT and STI policies that compliment one another and advance each sector’s goals. The ALICT course will build the capacity of future African leaders to contribute effectively to the development of knowledge societies by imparting new leadership skills to them. These new leadership skills will provide participants with the attitudes, ideas, management tools, and strategies to act as change agents, assisting their ministries and organisations to develop coherent and well aligned polices in Education, ICT and STI.
Please read our four country study reports on the State of the Knowledge Society in Africa to learn more about why this course was developed.
Course Vision
Working with future leaders to develop a group who will act as key change agents in their ministries and organisations to advance the Knowledge Society (KS) in Africa.
Course Objectives
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Equip existing and future African leaders with a commanding understanding of the key elements in the development of knowledge societies.
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Build leaders’ capacities to be agents of change in their own ministries, organizations and regions in the building of knowledge societies.
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Prepare future leaders to achieve policy alignment and coherence by influencing and implementing policy strategies relating to the three key KS pillars - ICT, Education, and Science, Technology and Innovation (STI).
Course Duration
• 7 months
• 10 hours a week (guideline)
- 50% online learning
- 50% offline self-study (or as required to complete course work to a satisfactory standard)
Course Delivery
Blended learning approach whereby participants learn both online and in face-to-face settings:
• Through the ALICT virtual workspace participants will access learning materials, engage in discussion, and complete group assignments with the support of online tutors.
• Key elements of the course will be delivered in face-to-face workshops: Orientation, Futures Thinking and Fore-sighting, and presentation of and guidelines for the final assignment.
Course Assignments
Assignment 1: Group Produce a Policy Coherence Roadmap for the development of the Knowledge Society
Assignment 2: Individual Complete Leadership Journal
Assignment 3: Group Write a paper to be published in the ALICT ‘State of the Knowledge Society in Africa’ Certification Participants who successfully complete the course will receive a professional certificate in African Leadership in ICT.
Certification
Participants who successfully complete the course will receive a professional certificate in African Leadership in ICT. In addition, the program has been submitted to three international universities for academic validation for credit accumulation towards postgraduate qualifications at certificate/ diploma/masters levels.
Course Benefits
- Strengthened career- advancement opportunities through relevant professional development
- Acquired 21st Century skills for the development of the Knowledge Society
- Membership to a continent-wide Professional Network of ALICT alumni
- Expected accumulated credits for post-graduate qualifications
- Working knowledge of web 2.0 tools (social media, tagging, blogging, podcasting, social bookmarking, vodcasting etc.)
- Working knowledge of Futures Thinking Tools (Horizon Scanning; Scenario Development; Delphi Method and Trend Impact Analysis)
- Appreciation for the importance of innovation and creativity in strategy formulation
- Improved Communication Skills
- Improved project management, policy planning and implementation skills
- Mastery of Leadership Toolkit for the Knowledge Society
Download summary report
Download Mauritius report
Download Tanzania report
Download Zambia report
Download South Africa report