The IIP recently pivoted to a fully online format and is now open to the top 100 STEM graduate applicants from across Africa. The programme functions as a reputation driver for iiAfrica, with scaling now focused on delivering other national initiatives in partnership with government. The first of these – Ghana1000 – recently kicked off and is a national immersion programme launched in partnership with the Ghanaian government’s National Service Scheme (NSS). The NSS provides work experience for new graduates, while ensuring that important sectors in Ghana do not lack the human resources necessary for continued national development. All university graduates in Ghana are required to participate in the NSS. Through the Ghana1000 programme, recent STEM graduates of Ghanaian universities receive tuition in data analytics and business intelligence skills from faculty members of ESMT Berlin, the University of Victoria in Canada and others, enabling them to make a greater contribution to their host organisations during national service. The emphasis on STEM was important from the beginning. STEM-dependent areas, such as manufacturing, energy, pharmaceuticals, artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet of things, continue to be important driving forces behind future competitiveness. A focus on STEM subjects and skills is therefore vital to supporting the growth of developing countries. Research from the Brookings Institution has suggested that regions with STEM-oriented economies, where populations possess high levels of associated skills and expertise, perform more strongly than other countries on economic indicators, such as innovation, employment and exports. Of course, the programme also means that students can access world-class business education without having to leave their home country. As well as preventing brain drain from Ghana, it removes barriers for those unable to travel, live or study abroad, whatever their reasons may be. A secondary aim of the Ghana1000 initiative is to boost the number of STEM graduates who stay on with their host organisation after completing the NSS. Offered to participants at no cost, all core academic content provided by ESMT Berlin comes under a free licence agreement. Local academic tutors are hired by iiAfrica and trained to teach the academic content by volunteers from Academics Without Borders, a Canadian non-governmental organisation. In this way, the programme also supports the upskilling and development of the local higher education sector. Another AMBA-accredited school, Warwick Business School, has been doing similar work since 2006 through its Warwick in Africa programme. The Ghana1000’s academic content is complemented by a work-readiness programme, where skills such as critical thinking, empathy and good communication take centre stage. Regular webinars with iiAfrica alumni and other business leaders from across Africa, meanwhile, introduce participants to different options for professional development after completing the programme.
their home region after their studies. But there is no logic to this strategy, as it goes against basic human nature to require someone to move from a place where they, as an individual, have better opportunities, to a place where it would ostensibly be more difficult to build a life to which they aspire. This is neither fair nor realistic. However, business schools owe it to developing countries to engage more deeply with this topic than most have done thus far. How in-country programmes can stem brain drain To help combat brain drain, business schools can develop more in‑country programmes in locations that suffer from a loss of highly skilled talent. Such programmes help to ensure that developing countries can access and benefit from the knowledge and skills taught by international, world-class institutions. One example of this is ESMT Berlin’s partnership with Industry Immersion Africa (iiAfrica), a non-profit organisation established by two members of the school’s leadership team together with a Ghanaian mathematician from the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS). Based in Cape Town, iiAfrica is focused on increasing the employability of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduates across Africa through educational and internship opportunities. It began by running a bridging programme between academia and industry for mathematics graduates in 2017. The Industry Immersion Program (IIP) has since been delivered in Cameroon, Ghana, South Africa, Rwanda and, most recently, Kenya in partnership with Strathmore University’s School of Computing and Engineering Sciences. Start-up funding for the initiative was received from the German Academic Exchange Service, with follow-on funding provided by ESMT Berlin’s private donor base, SOS Children’s Villages, Development Bank Ghana and the Mastercard Foundation.
28 | Ambition | SEPTEMBER 2024
Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online