Akad Education Group - Africa

Advantages of Student Educational Tourism to USA

Pre-travel briefing at Inoorero University is by Prof. K. Tirima and Teddy Warria on Critical Thinking, Value Based leadership and preparation for academic success.

In Boston, Prof. Benyamin Lichtenstein, University of Massachusetts speaks on Business & Entrepreneurship.

In Maryland, Todd McCloskey takes students through applying to US Universities and sitting tests such as TOEFL and SAT.

Following the above travel, our collaborators are available to assist students find their career path by applying and preparing for study locally and at accredited U.S. College or university. Each year approximately three million students from all over the world, 5,000 of whom come from Kenya -  contact educational information centers affiliated with the U.S. Department of State. These in turn, provide professional, timely, accurate, comprehensive, and unbiased advice on study and scholarship opportunities in the U.S. through free sessions on the process of attaining admission, TOEFL, SAT I, SAT II,  Visa interview preparation, SEVIS processing, scholarship/financial aid and general study in the U.S

How does our Educational Travel add value?

Our theme is Excellence in Career, Education and Value based Leadership; the first two occur only when leadership is invested within its rightful context.

Leader development is a form of individual-based differentiation, helping individuals enhance a unique self-understanding and construct independent identities (Hall & Seibert, 1992; McCauley et al., 1998). Leadership development can be thought of as an integration strategy by helping people understand how to relate to others, coordinate their efforts, build commitments, and develop extended social networks by applying self-understanding to social and organizational imperatives. Leadership is a continuous process that can take place anywhere (Fulmer, 1997), and requires one to strategically plan how to learn from their school, studies, work and careers.

Why Leadership Development?

Leader development, such as through our Youth training, is primarily based on enhancing the human capital of our students. It is from here that the creation of social capital can occur, so that our youth can live in a climate and environment that delivers their basic needs, let alone their wishes, dreams and aspirations. 

Leadership is a source of competitive advantage and worthy of one’s investment socially and organizationally (McCall, 1998; Vicere & Fulmer, 1998). The success of the Asian Tiger economies (like South Korea & Singapore) is proof of the power of proper leadership. This is comparison to the poor leadership on our African continent that has left us poorer, if not worse than we were when our colonial masters left.

There is no reason why our African cities should not be as modern as those of the Asian Tiger economies, when we enjoy far greater resources than the Asian Tiger economies have ever had. Poverty, ignorance and disease should have been eliminated long ago. We owe it to our new generations to get this right, not only leaving an inheritance of poor infrastructure, management, disease and apathy. The question is, what are we going to do in the next 50 years in Africa? What will our legacy be?

Our solution: Leadership through Action Learning

This is a continuous process of learning and reflection, supported by colleagues, with a corresponding emphasis on getting things done. Action learning is based on the assumption that people learn most effectively when working on real-time organizational problems (Revans, 1980).

Each application of action learning is unique, with participants collectively sharing realities in a community of practice. Action learning tends to provide a good deal of challenge and support. Students are encouraged to try new things and to trust themselves and others to stretch their thinking and behavior. For maximal effect, action should be accompanied by reflection about the action; otherwise, there is little structured guidance for learning from experience (Froiland, 1994).

Specific examples of intra-personal competence associated with leader development initiatives include;
 
1.    Self-awareness (e.g., emotional awareness, self confidence),

2.    Self-regulation (e.g., self-control, trustworthiness, adaptability); this is where – for example – our training on Dispute Resolution requires that the students learn how to regulate themselves when in disputes with each other and the authorities. One who can regulate him or herself will not rush at the opportunity to purchase petrol to burn down the school or  university, or throw stones at pedestrians, etc

3.    Self motivation (e.g., commitment, initiative, optimism) – a student who KNOWS why he has come to school, why his or her parents are sacrificing to pay fees, will think twice about burning down their school or engaging in activities that will potentially injure or kill fellow students, let alone destroy their long term career prospects (Manz & Sims, 1989; McCauley, 2000; Neck & Manz, 1996; Stewart et al., 1996). We have not heard of students burning down their parent’s homes – so why are they feeling free to burn down schools and educational institutions??