When students learn at ALU, they have the option of choosing where to study. We see the world as our campus; therefore students have the option to study from their home communities, at one of our learning hubs or in any location of their choosing that connects them to the communities most impacted by the challenges they’re on a mission to solve. For Peggy Ongoma ’22, Bachelor of Software Engineering student at ALU, that place has been ALU’s Kampala pop-up learning hub.
“From the moment we got to the Hub, I knew this new phase of my journey would be one for the books, and one month later, I can testify to it,” says Peggy. ALU students gain a sense of belonging from their first day through learning from the communities where they can find challenges and opportunities to explore.
Under ALU’s new learning model, we have expanded our approach to experiential learning by adopting the 70-20-10 system where 70% of our student’s learning is done by getting hands-on experience in their chosen field of study, interviewing with experts in their field, attending conferences, doing internships, and working on projects tied to their missions. Part of ALU’s learning by doing philosophy involves placing students in environments where they are free to explore, play, collaborate and apply knowledge to real world experiences. One of such places is the Kampala learning hub in Uganda.
“Working in such an environment with various companies conducting their day-to-day businesses is like sitting in a room full of mirrors of the things you could achieve and the person you could become. The conversations I have had with various people from the hub and the community in Kampala have been quite eye-opening – a discovery, I might argue, at least for me. I have become a whole different person, and my growth has been a consequence of the ALU’s hub model.”
Peggy is one of the 15 ALU students currently learning from our learning hub in Uganda, formed through a partnership with Design Hub Kampala. From June to August 2022, these students will be developing entrepreneurship and community-building skills through curated events, workshops at the hub, and networking with other patrons of Design Hub Kampala.
