Short Programs
Expanding the intellectual growth and leadership development of Africa’s next leaders
ALA offers additional programming dedicated to expanding the intellectual growth and leadership development of Africa’s next leaders. These programs create a challenging and stimulating environment that enables emerging leaders to learn from each other, global change makers, and a team of international educators.
Global Scholars Program
Every year, young students from around the world enroll in our Global Scholars Program (GSP) to engage in social entrepreneurship, design thinking, leadership training, adventure, and cross-cultural exchange, preparing them to create change in Africa and around the world. Each summer on our Johannesburg campus, hundreds of dynamic youth between the ages of 13 and 19 come together to develop as ethical leaders, contribute value to a social venture, experience new people and places, and build lasting friendships.
Students gain tangible skills working with South African entrepreneurs, building leadership skills with peers from all over the world, and exploring the best of what Johannesburg has to offer. GSP is a unique and transformative camp experience.
At the end of each program, participants will return home with skills that are crucial in a world that increasingly calls for creative thinking, entrepreneurship, and innovation in the quest for solutions to complex global issues.
Engage Africa is a three-week (18-day) leadership program with a focus on social entrepreneurship for students: ages 13 – 19.
Our classic summer program takes young leaders on a deep dive into design thinking, leadership training, and cross-cultural exchange, equipping them with the practical skills necessary to be a 21st-century changemaker.
Built around ALA's signature Entrepreneurial Leadership curriculum and focused on human-centered design thinking, the Engage program teaches teens to understand global challenges and develop context-specific, innovative solutions. Participants practice leadership by working with social ventures, South African entrepreneurs, and community members. They develop skills through team-based challenges while building a global network of peers and discovering the history, beauty, and diversity of Africa. Participants leave with the tools to start their own social and civic ventures.
Explore Africa is a week-and-a-half long (10-day) leadership and service learning program for students ages 13 – 19.
A shorter version of our Engage Africa offering, at GSP Explore, participants take part in service learning projects, strengthen self-awareness, and practice leadership and teamwork skills, preparing them to create positive change in Africa and around the world.
The Explore program helps young leaders unlock their potential as agents of positive change. The curriculum focuses first on self-leadership and believes that self-awareness, confidence, and strong communication skills are essential for effective, ethical leadership.
GSP Explore
10 days
Explore Session 1: 30 June 2025 – 11 July 2025
Explore Session 2: 26 July 2025 – 6 August 2025
$2,500
for African residents
$2,800
for International applicants
GSP Engage
18 days
Engage Session 1: 30 June 2025 – 19 July 2025
Engage Session 2: 26 July 2025 – 14 August 2025
$3,900
for African residents
$4,750
for International applicants
FAQ
All of our dorm rooms include two single beds, two desks with chairs, and two cupboards/closets for clothes. Participants will have a roommate, sleeping two per room. Each room has lockable windows and a heater for cold nights. Linens and bedding, including towels, are provided.
If you live nearby or are visiting, you are welcome to visit campus. Please note that all visitors, including parents, must have prior approval to enter the campus, so please email us at gsp@africanleadershipacademy.org in advance so we can place the names of visitors on our security guest list.
Chevron Engineering Leadership Program
The Chevron-sponsored African Leadership Academy Engineering Leadership Program (ALA ELP) is designed for highly motivated and talented high school students aged 15 to 18 who are interested in a career in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math).
The program seeks to develop future African engineers equipped with leadership skills to lead a change on the continent.
The program has drawn participants from all over the African continent with its curriculum, which is designed to provide these young leaders of tomorrow with the tools and techniques they need to become more effective changemakers, as well as to inspire them to discover and apply solutions.
Discover
The program provides a wide range of excursions where participants learn about South Africa's rich history and cultural heritage while making new networks on the continent. Participants take part in the following activities: Explore Johannesburg, Cultural Night, Country Parade, Group Presentations
Innovate
The curriculum challenges both participants' thinking and their skills. Participants are supported by mentors and given an opportunity to practice problem-solving by identifying immediate problems, co-creating relevant and impactful solutions that serve the communities that the problems are situated in, using the power of prototyping to test solutions and receive feedback from industry experts to improve their ideas.
Create
The program supports the participants to tackle the engineering design challenge, they brainstorm, and craft possible solutions, receive and respond to feedback, and, ultimately, present their projects on the final day.
Develop
Participants develop the six traits that will empower them to lead today and in the future. In groups, participants practice and develop these key leadership skills through impactful experiential activities and training led by talented educators. Participants practice these skills while building community and networking with peers, mentors as well as professionals who are leaders in the STEM education and industry.
2025 Session Dates
June 30, 2025- July 11, 2025
Applications open in early 2025
The School for Ethics and Global Leadership
A semester-long program for American high school students
The School for Ethics and Global Leadership (SEGL) is an innovative school for 11th graders from the United States and across the world, based in Washington DC. In 2020 SEGL launched SEGL at ALA, which offers students the chance to spend a semester living and learning alongside our two-year Diploma Program students. During their time at ALA, SEGL cohorts are deeply integrated into life at ALA, sharing dorm rooms and attending classes together with ALA students. SEGL students experience South Africa’s rich history and culture, discover the vibrant city of Johannesburg, and build a deeper understanding of the African continent through their interactions with ALA students.
Model African Union
ALA Model African Union (ALAMAU) is a conference designed to provide young leaders with an opportunity to explore the inner workings of the African Union, and to practice international diplomacy by assuming the roles of African leaders.
ALAMAU is a five day conference affording young leaders from secondary schools around the world the opportunity to resolve, in five days of intense brainstorming and negotiations, some of the longest-running and most complicated issues on the continent.
The conference experience is not limited to committee sessions; through keynote presentations by foreign policy experts, a diplomatic roundtable featuring ambassadors from several countries, educational tours to historic sites, and a celebration of cultural diversity through the Cultural Night, delegates experience a highly intellectual, educative, and exciting conference.