AKU Students Create Global Skills through a Global Challenge ​

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AKU's Global Engagement Office (GEO) in collaboration with the World Council and Assembly on Cooperative Education (WACE), an international organization dedicated to developing and advocating cooperative and work-integrated education programmes; and EdTech start-up Pra​ctera, a company that creates experiential education platforms for universities and organizations recently came together to offer experiential learning opportunities for AKU students.

The WACE Global Challenge brought over 100 students from 17 universities together on a virtual, platform, to work as 'management consultants' on real-world projects. 14 students (8 from Pakistan and 6 from East Africa) represented AKU and collaborated with diverse teams to solve challenges related to the UN Sustainable Goals. The cohort of 10 women and 4 men were from AKU-SONAM, AKU-MC, and AKU-IED. Each student group was assigned a company to work with. Companies came from Australia, Cambodia, Myanmar, UK, and USA.

Key skillsets AKU students gained from these projects included: leadership skills, strategic planning, communications, and gaining intercultural awareness. Collaborating in global teams not only pushed the students to work with international companies but allowed them to add a perspective of the global South that was appreciated by their colleagues. The students unanimously agreed that the experience added to their growth and personal and professional development. Not only has the programme given the students a chance to participate in global projects, but most agreed that they walked away feeling more confident and with a greater appreciation for AKU's educational curriculum and experience.

The next WACE programme open to AKU students is scheduled from 15th November to 8th December 2022.​ Students will be invited to apply from 1st August 2022.