19/06/2013
Do you want to sharpen your management skills? Take your career to the next level? Learn how to make your business grow? Or take the first steps toward starting a company?
We are partnering with Africa’s most prestigious business schools – including the University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science, Nigeria’s Lagos Business School and Strathmore Business School in Kenya – to develop free short courses on the foundations of good management.
The first course is called ‘Launchpad: Success at Work in 21st Century Africa’. It will cover foundational workplace skills, such as effective communication, time-management, goal setting and influencing others. Launchpad will start in the coming months. Join AMI to receive updates on the launch date.
Launchpad will be open to anyone, anywhere with an Internet connection, for free. You can even do it on your mobile phone. You can take the course on your own online, or as part of an offline AMI Learning Lab. We encourage everyone who signs up to do the course independently to work through it with a ‘buddy’ – either a colleague, friend or mentor. Your buddy or manager will need to sign off on your final assessment, so this is important. At AMI Learning Labs, groups of managers and entrepreneurs will work through the course together, offline, with a facilitator. We are piloting the Learning Lab concept in Kenya. Join AMI for updates on Learning Labs near you.
Launchpad is designed for managers in smaller and medium sized African businesses, but will be useful for anyone who wants to improve their performance at work, from college graduates looking for a job to top executives who need a refresher!
Our lecturer will be Thabo Mosala, one of the most popular lecturers at South Africa’s Gordon Institute of Business Science. Future courses will include lecturers from leading business schools across the continent.
When do the courses launch?
We hope to launch the pilot Launchpad module in June-July 2013. Join AMI to receive updates on the launch date.
Are the courses really free?
Yes! The learning – provided by faculty from world-class universities – is completely free. You will pay a small fee if you want a certificate of completion. (More details to follow). You will also pay a small fee to attend a Learning Lab.
How long are the courses?
The initial course is a single module and will act as a pilot, to help us test and refine the concept. It will involve approximately 5 hours of work. You will have two weeks to complete the course from a start date to be determined. You will work at your own pace, accessing materials whenever you like.
What will I need?
To do the course individually, you will need a reliable Internet connection, ideally broadband, either on a PC, laptop, tablet or web-enabled phone. You can work through the course at work, at home or at an Internet café. It’s up to you. We will keep bandwidth requirements as low as possible, but at a minimum, you will need to be able to listen to audio and download documents. If you are doing the course individually (not as part of a Learning Lab), then you will need to find a ‘buddy’ – a colleague, mentor, your boss or a friend. You will work through the content together.
How will the course be assessed?
Since this course is open to anyone, we are expecting LARGE classes. That means not everyone can get personal attention and feedback. You will be assessed by a multiple choice quiz and by a practical assignment that will need to be signed off by your boss or a buddy.
Will I get formal academic credit for the course?
No. This is not an academic course. It is not formally accredited by national educational bodies. However, candidates who complete the whole course can apply for a certificate of completion, which they can add to their CVs and/or show to existing employers.
What future courses are in the pipeline?
After the pilot, we hope to follow up with a range of practical, relevant courses for managers covering topics such as how to help their team function more effectively, how to manage money or better understand their customers.
What if I prefer face-to-face interaction to online learning?
We know that not everyone is comfortable learning online. And some of you may not have a reliable high-speed Internet connection. So we are developing AMI Learning Labs, where managers and entrepreneurs will work through the content in small groups at a physical location with a facilitator. There will be a small fee to cover costs. We will be piloting the Learning Lab concept in Kenya during July, and will soon be providing a list of local partners and details of time and place. Join AMI to receive Learning Lab updates.
How will the ‘buddy’ system work?
Research shows that most of learn more effectively with other people. And because the AMI course aims to reach large numbers of managers at the same time with limited opportunity for direct instructor feedback, we will be leveraging peer learning to enrich the experience. We strongly recommend that you start thinking about finding a buddy who will be your learning partner throughout the course. Click here to forward details about the course to a colleague, friend, mentor or manager.
