South Africa GIE: Learning to Lead through Complexity and Uncertainty
Are you genuinely curious? Open to thinking differently and questioning your assumptions? Willing to step out of your comfort zone to develop ‘future-fit’ leadership skills that positively impact the world? If so, then this GIE to Cape Town, South Africa, which is designed to be a transformative learning and leadership development experience, is for you.
South Africa has a unique abundance of natural beauty and cultural diversity. It also has the world’s highest economic inequality. It faces distinct challenges of emerging market economies, such as slow growth, high unemployment and socio-political issues. Such a complex and uncertain context is often the impetus for developing innovative products, services, and business models. South Africa presents an ideal context for learning about the skills and mindsets needed to lead businesses through the increasing global uncertainty and complexity. The best way to do this is by partnering with young South Africans who are adept at managing limited resources to ‘make things happen’.
We partner with South African students and faculty from TSIBA, a business school in Cape Town known for its future-fit leadership focus, for an immersive exploration of real-life emerging market challenges. You will co-craft ideas in the service of entrepreneurs who are bridging South Africa’s formal and informal economies. . This requires your full participation, engagement, commitment, and energy throughout. The real-life, application-based approach of this GIE will allow you to build your capacity to use future thinking and innovation principles in aligning business solutions to greater goals (as proposed by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals).
Program objectives include:
· Expanding your personal, relational, and inclusive leadership skills through a collaborative learning experience with peers at UNC and in South Africa, which includes a unique wilderness leadership retreat;
· Enhancing your critical thinking capacity about global issues through a rich immersion in the South African context of social entrepreneurship;
· Understanding the potential and importance of inclusive business and social entrepreneurship in emerging markets and consider their relevance for the USA and other countries – with particular reference to establishing equitable, truly inclusive economies and organizations;
· Building cross-cultural teamwork skills by working side-by-side with South African peers;
· Learning human-centered problem solving and innovation processes and tools;
· Developing your personal leadership awareness, reflection, skills, and practices in alignment with your values and hopes for the future;
· Using your learning journey to review and shape your ongoing career planning.
Our emphasis on learning-through-application requires your full presence, engagement, and participation throughout all aspects of the program – introductory sessions, Chapel Hill classes, and in-country. It is important to know that this is a full, 3-credit-bearing course. While in South Africa, you should expect to spend ~10 hours per day on program activities. The program is led by Lecturer Dave Bond, Executive Leadership Coach, Change Consultant, and International Facilitator, in collaboration with on-the-ground provider Comersion and a team of South African faculty.
Eligibility
- GPA Requirement: None
- Language Prerequisite: None
- Language of Instruction: English
- Eligibility:
- Undergraduate Business Majors & Minors
- First-Year AAPs are eligible for this program
- Seniors Graduating in May are not eligible
- Accessibility Resources
Application Dates
- Application Opens: November 4, 2024
- Application Deadline: January 13, 2025
Program Information
Meet with an Advisor
UBP students can schedule a meeting with the UBP Global Team to learn more about this and other Global Immersion Electives by clicking on the “Schedule Appointment” link below.
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