Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and African Studies (LEA Curriculum)


The curriculum in leadership, entrepreneurship, and African studies prepares each ALA student to confront the most pressing challenges on the continent. In the interdisciplinary African studies curriculum, students develop an understanding of the context for pressing challenges including hunger eradication, health care provision, economic growth, and conflict resolution. In the entrepreneurship curriculum, each student will develop the foundation to design innovative solutions to these challenges and find the inspiration they need to turn an idea into action. Finally, the holistic leadership curriculum will prepare each student to confront the challenges of leadership as they implement their solutions and become agents of positive change on the African continent.

Leadership Studies at ALA

The leadership curriculum at African Leadership Academy is a highly experiential course designed to help each student develop the intra- and interpersonal skills required to be an agent of positive change on the continent.

Leadership Labs
Leadership labs are short, experiential units designed around a particular set of skills. Leadership lab topics include leading across cultures, speech and presentation, values-based leadership, and teamwork. Each lab series will include a mix of group activities and individualized learning and reflection. 



Case Studies and the “Leadership Perspectives” Speaker Series
The Case Learning Program and Leadership Perspectives speaker series demystify the process of leadership. By studying and interacting with leaders from across the public, private, and social sectors, students will discover the traits of highly effective leaders and identify role models as they become leaders for the continent.

Culminating Project
The Culminating Project is the capstone experience in the African Leadership Academy leadership curriculum, allowing each student to synthesize and put into action the leadership themes covered in the two-year curricular sequence. Each student will plan and lead a team to execute a culminating service-learning project that has lasting impact on an African community.

Entrepreneurial Studies at ALA

At ALA, we seek to develop students into creative thinkers who have the courage and skills necessary to make their dreams a reality. Our entrepreneurship curriculum is designed to help each student develop the mindset, approach, and skills necessary to become an entrepreneurial innovator on the continent.

Design Challenges
Through our series of design challenges, each student learns to access his or her creativity through an iterative, team-based process of brainstorming, prototyping, and testing new ideas. Design challenges range from small, demonstrative competitions (such as building a large tower from toothpicks) to multi-day challenges to design solutions to some of Africa’s most pressing problems.

The Case Learning Program
The entrepreneurship case learning program provides students with African entrepreneurial role models who challenge and inspire students to “dream big.”

Student-run Enterprises
African Leadership Academy students gain practical experience managing enterprises on campus, including the tuck shop and restaurants.

Venture Grants
Students with ideas for organizations that can have a positive social impact will be encouraged to apply for small venture grants that will help them bring their idea to fruition.

The Culminating Project
Students test their entrepreneurial skills as they design and implement a Culminating Project that will positively impact an African community.

African Studies at ALA

The multidisciplinary African studies curriculum will help students develop an understanding of Africa’s past and present, a connection to the broader African community, and a sense of ownership for the continent’s future. This will be done through a unique approach in which students will explore pressing challenges on the continent from a variety of perspectives. 

The African Studies Core
In this multidisciplinary course, students explore pressing challenges – such as health care provision, economic growth, or conflict resolution – from a wide variety of perspectives: the economic perspective; the political perspective; the environmental & resource sustainability perspective; and the perspectives of directly affected parties. Throughout the unit, students will be challenged to understand the viewpoints of different stakeholders, providing for rich discussion and deep understanding.

In a term-long exploration of health care in Africa, for example, students would use economic analysis to evaluate the impact of disease and effectiveness of proposed solutions; study how global, national, and local political forces shape health policies; understand environmental and resource factors that contribute to disease and evaluate sustainable approaches to disease prevention; and “step into the shoes” of different segments of the African population to understand how they are impacted by disease and health policy.

Africa Concerns
In this monthly student-led forum, students spend a half-day learning about and debating important issues in Africa, such as the case for sharia law in predominantly Muslim nations.