Students – ready for their career start

We are delighted to report that our students performed very well on the program. We could see them growing, gaining even more self-confidence, and getting themselves ready for their next step in life. Our group worked together very collaboratively and demonstrated a true team spirit.

We were amazed to see how they navigated the whole program. They all confirmed they found it very intense and completely relevant at this early stage in their career. We could see a mix of future entrepreneurs, a number of young professionals ready for the corporate world as well as aspiring government officials and future NGO staff members.

Students – prepared for Zambia’s competitive labor market

We were delighted to welcome 53 students during these two weeks. An impressive number of participants indeed for a program designed as a workshop (not a series of lectures). Certainly, a challenge even though all together we were able to turn it into a true opportunity with the students playing a very active role and becoming the actors of their own learning. One example of this situation is the following: as we decided that, as part of the interview training module, the students would successively act as an anspiring candidate and then as a recruiter, they were able to solidify their overall understanding of the topic. They could see for themselves and in a very concrete manner what the recruiter would expect from the candidate as well as the do’s and don’ts in the interview process.

Students – ready to perform in business world

As usual in the Career Starter week program, our weeks culminated in a business case presentation to a panel composed of Zambia professionals, UNILUS representatives and ourselves. As our students outlined their value proposition for various businesses they may want to create, we could see their enthusiasm for embracing some of the challenges of their country and coming up with a business response offering practical solutions to these various challenges while creating value. Not surprisingly, this generation is digital. The students will be driving the digital transformation of all businesses going forward while at the same time demonstrating a high sense of corporate social responsibility and a focus on People, purpose and values.

Irrespective of their preference regarding their next steps, we were most impressed by their commitment to doing good for their generation, their country, and the world. Their generosity and their sense of service are simply remarkable and very inspiring.

Zambian professionals – inspiration for the students

We are most grateful to the representatives of Zambia business community for playing a pivotal role in the program as they responded very generously to our invitations to address the students. Their contribution was invaluable as they acted as role models for our students, showing them the direction of travel in business and in life in general. Our special appreciation to all Zambia business representatives who kindly accepted to partner with us thus paving the way ahead for the students.

UNILUS team - highly committed partners

Needless to say that we are well aware that none of this would be possible without the incredible creativity of UNILUS staff (lecturers, management and administrative staff). We would like to express our deep gratitude to all at UNILUS for their endless commitment to raising the bar for their students, guiding them relentlessly and giving us a chance to team up with them as their students become ready for a professional career.

Thank you and first success stories

To conclude, serving as a B360 volunteer on the ground, at UNILUS Zambia, was a privilege. We feel honored and grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with all involved and are looking forward to hearing from the students as they start their career and participate actively in moving their country forward. We cannot wait to see them participating in the economy and Zambia society at large. We were very blessed in that while we were progressing in our program, we learned that some of the students (probably 4 or 5) received invitations for interviews - be it for internship programs or even open-ended jobs. Furthermore, we are very pleased that while we were there, 2 of the students in our groups started a full-time employment with tier 1 companies in Zambia. A life changing event for them that was shared with all in the group with lots of emotion and joy. A great sign of encouragement for all the students. Our dream with them and for them.

Here is a small selection of the pictures taken during the time of the two CSW classes at UNILUS in Zambia.