The Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation has opened applications for its Africa Initiative for Governance (AIG)’s Public Leaders Programme offered in partnership with the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford.
The call for applications, which opened on January 27, 2022, is targeted at exceptional leaders working in the public sector across Africa.
According to Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, chairman of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, the mission is to transform public sector delivery in Africa and one of the ways to do that is by building capacity in the public sector workforce.
“With this programme, we are offering public servants across Africa a unique opportunity to access a world-class training programme that will enhance their professional skill set and leadership abilities and empower them to be more effective in their roles,” Aig-Imoukhuede said.
He added, “It gives us enormous pleasure to be able to offer scholarships to exceptional public sector leaders who are committed to building a better Africa.”
Similarly, Ngaire Woods, the dean of the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford noted that they were delighted to see the programme run again after a successful first year as part of our long-standing partnership with the Foundation.
“The Blavatnik School specially designs executive programmes for public leaders to ensure that participants learn from world-renowned scholars, outstanding practitioners, and from one another, taking into account the current context for public sector leadership in Africa and the challenges of an increasingly complex and dynamic world,” Woods said.
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The programme aims to strengthen the skills that rising senior public servants need to build cultures of excellence, effectiveness, and integrity throughout the institutions they lead and across the public sector.
Scholarships will be awarded by the foundation to 100 African public servants for the 2022 cycle of the public leaders programme.
Applicants are required to have a minimum of seven-year of active service in the public sector and occupy a directorate level position.
Only the best-of-the-best applicants will be selected. Entry to the programme is very competitive. The final admission decision rests with the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government.
Some programme alumni have nothing but praise for their experience.
“I was deeply engaged, interrogating both personal and professional assumptions across a wide range of public service subjects,” said Ada Phil-Ugochukwu, the assistant director and head of policy and strategy at the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate in Imo State, Nigeria.
“Participating in the programme was a priceless opportunity to improve my professional skillset and the services I deliver to the public.”
The programme comprises seven weeks of world-class training led by an excellent faculty from the University of Oxford, who through a blend of online sessions and classroom discussions, simulations, real-world exercises, and group work, provide participants with an unparalleled opportunity to develop conceptual frameworks and practical tools they need to meet the challenges of today’s rapidly changing and complex world.
“Our commitment to the improvement of the public sector across Africa means that this year, applications are invited from all African countries”, said Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation executive vice chair, Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede.
“This is an investment not only in the individuals who are selected to participate in the programme but also an investment in our continent, in line with our vision to close the gap between Africa and the rest of the world,” she added.
