Program Spotlight: South Africa
June 1st, 2021
The first virtual Summer Abroad course to launch this year was our South Africa program, which features the course Inclusive Consulting with Micro-Enterprises (RSM395) taught by Professor Ann Armstrong.
This unique program brings together students from diverse academic disciplines, including Engineering and Commerce, and provides them with the opportunity to work with micro-entrepreneurs at the base of the economic pyramid.
In addition to learning about inclusive consulting from their professor, Dr. Ann Armstrong, students are also attending workshops and seminars organized by Cape Town consulting firm Reciprocity. These seminars help provide greater contextual understanding of how society, economics, and politics have shaped South Africa’s complicated history.
When the decision was made to offer some of our regular Summer Abroad courses in an online format in 2021, it was clear that this course could be easily adapted to still provide students with a unique learning experience and the opportunity to work with micro-entrepreneurs in the Townships of Cape Town.
By adapting the delivery method, the program has expanded its reach. Students who would not have otherwise been able to spend 3.5 weeks in Cape Town, are now joining the course from around the world: reaching from the west coast of North America, through Toronto, and to Asia. Because the student teams are conducting their consulting sessions with the micro-entrepreneurs on Zoom, our partners at Reciprocity identified entrepreneurs for projects in additional Townships. Previously, our teams were limited to work with entrepreneurs located in Philipi township due to its proximity to Cape Town.
At the beginning of June, our student teams will present immediately actionable plans to their micro-entrepreneurs to help them find solutions to the challenges they face. Read more about, and watch videos of, the four micro-enterprises the students are working with this month: http://www.bop.org.za/BoPLab/UT21-Meet_your_client.html