Paper short abstract:

Tertiary Partners in the Scholars Program select individuals for potential and facilitate their development and connection to networks and to opportunities. Experiences illustrate the journey of providing access to education and developing change makers.

Paper long abstract:

Grades and financial means should not be considered as the only way youth can access opportunities. Tertiary Partners in the MCF Scholars Program aim to select individuals and facilitate their development and connection to networks and to opportunities. Scholar and Partner experiences illustrate the journey of providing access to education and developing change makers.

This paper shares the experiences of three Scholar Program Partner institutions (Ashesi University, African Leadership Academy and University of Cape Town) in four stages of the Scholars Program: recruitment, support and training, preparation for transition into the world of work, and connections and linkages to opportunities. These Partners are trying to re-imagine the paradigm of access and completion rates in university education and entry level employment on the African continent.

The paper will examine relationships, connections and networks created amongst Partners and aligned organisations, as well as networks that students forge across the world through the Program. It tells stories of innovation and disruption at the individual and institutional level, that are redefining notions of access to education, student success, transition into the world of work and raising change makers.

It focuses on the experiences and interventions that Partners provide to students to develop skills necessary to drive change in their communities while tackling difficult problems facing their communities with humility. The paper will also highlight the challenges that are experienced at the institutional, individual and social level while trying to create connections and opportunities for the students to return and give back to their communities.

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Paper short abstract:

Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program partners are deliberately organized as a learning partnership to maximize impact and influence change through systematic knowledge creation and mobilization. Spaces for authentic conversations are created so that they can share experience and learn together.

Paper long abstract:

Learning — the continuous process of reflection on experience, incorporating tacit knowledge as well evidence from research and evaluation— is a critical component of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program. Investing in knowledge generation and mobilization is a key part of the Scholars Program strategy. Answering learning questions and addressing knowledge gaps around what works and why is critical for maximizing the impact of the Program. Learning also supports Program decision-making and strategy development and builds an evidence base that will catalyze broader change, in this case towards social and economic transformation on the African continent.

Much of this learning emerges in relationships. Thus, the Foundation purposefully creates opportunities for implementing partners (i.e., mainly universities and NGOs) to connect with and learn from each other. Examples of this include annual convenings of partners, the establishment of a learning partnership advisory group and of working groups, the resourcing of institutional partnerships, and the provision of funds for collaborative research.

In this paper, a Foundation representative will describe efforts to create spaces for authentic conversations and collaborations that enable learning partners to reflect collectively on experience, leverage their relative strengths and generate actionable knowledge. Also important is the generation of evidence on Scholars Program practices that can be scaled for institutional and system-level change.

Examples of positive outcomes emerging out of these connections will be shared as well as the challenges associated with a Foundation seeking to facilitate critical reflection and candid dialogue among its grantees.

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Paper short abstract:

The benefits of being in a community is the way it facilitates building long-lasting bonds and meaningful relationships to feel a sense of belonging and identity. The Scholars' community is building connections between the next generation of transformative leaders who are making change in Africa.

Paper long abstract:

The benefits of being a part of a strong community is in the way it facilitates building strong, long-lasting bonds and meaningful relationships to feel a sense of belonging and identity. The Scholars' community is building the connections between the next generation of transformative leaders who are poised to make monumental change in Africa. The foundation of the Scholars network comes from its shared values of integrity, empathy and courage. This foundations of values, in addition to the network's many opportunities to connect, provides a sense of belonging, excitement, togetherness, a feeling much closer to that of a family. This virtual and physical community gives dynamic and relevant opportunities that allows young people to grow professionally, interact with mentors and prepare for the future job market.

The benefit of community is the simple, yet powerful, act of amplification of the actions of one to the scale of the many. The network is poised to unite young people with a compelling vision and a hunger to change the narrative of Africa and propel their vision of a prosperous and inclusive Africa into a reality through collective action.

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Paper short abstract:

This paper aims to assess the reciprocal learning process and benefits gained from a partnership between the University of Gondar and Queen's University, to achieve their overarching goals of producing next-generation leaders and particular focus on the inclusion of people with disabilities

Paper long abstract:

Under the Mastercard Foundation's umbrella, the University of Gondar, Ethiopia and Queen's University, Canada partnered to harness the opportunity to advance their shared vision of empowering young people with disabilities. Besides sharing experiences and lessons on administrative and academic affairs, the two institutions are conceptualizing and working towards bringing institutional changes that benefit Scholars with disabilities.

This paper aims to assess the reciprocal learning process and the benefits gained from the partnership between the University of Gondar and Queen's University, to achieve their overarching goals of producing next-generation leaders and positively impacting institutions and societal systems.

The partnership between the University of Gondar and Queen's University, supported by Mastercard Foundation, exemplifies innovative strategies to advance collaborations between institutions of higher education for mutual benefit and learning. Through this partnership, 60 Gondar faculty (at Queen's) and 450 East African youth, talented but socioeconomically disadvantaged and living with disabilities (at Gondar), will have earned their third, second and first degrees by 2026. Through the reciprocal partnership, Queen's University also benefits from joint research, which enhances knowledge sharing, cultural practices, and various collaborative initiatives in research and the academia.

The partnership promotes inclusive education, institutional learning, project management and institutional capacity building. In the near future, the partnership will launch the first ever Occupational Therapy degree program in Ethiopia, Community-Based Rehabilitation Certificate Program and enhance numerous research collaborations. Differences in institutional culture, reporting changes and working across different time-zones were some of the challenges for management and administration.