Friday 10-03-2017 - 11:05

In January I was extremely lucky to be invited to visit one of the University’s international university partners, the African Leadership College in Mauritius, along with eight other GCU students. A university which has a unique mission to create a more prosperous and peaceful Africa by developing the next generation of ethical and entrepreneurial African leaders.

The aim of the study trip was to establish a partnership between both GCU and ALC students so that future and further long-term exchanges can occur between each university. In order to achieve this, the GCU students and I excitingly accompanied the ALC students throughout their day-to-day life in Mauritius, experiencing first hand their unique way of life both in and outside of the classroom.

If asked to describe my week at the African Leadership College in three words it would have to be inspirational, encouraging and challenging. It was inspirational in the sense that the whole mind-set of both the staff and students at ALC is so overwhelmingly positive and they are all so motivated to learn and teach every day, and to achieve the mission of the university. It really indicated to me that we do take education for granted here in the UK and if we had the mind-set displayed in ALC then we could learn and accomplish so much more. With regards to encouraging, the learning and teaching methods at ALC are so unique, uplifting, and engaging and they really encourage the students to come into each lesson with a positive attitude and they are really determined to learn and engage in any way that they can. The trip was also challenging but this was by no means in a negative way. I experienced a completely different culture, something I have never been exposed to before, which made adapting to life in Mauritius that little bit more challenging but this definitely added to the overall experience and value of the trip. By the end of my time in Mauritius I had accomplished things I didn’t think I was capable of and really made the most of my time experiencing and engaging in life as an ALC student.

It was without a doubt the most incredible and inspirational week of my life and I hope myself and the GCU students can continue this fantastic partnership and relationship that we have with ALC. By communicating our stories and experiences, hopefully we can encourage future GCU students to participate in this life-changing opportunity!  

Lauren Ramage
Student President