In this modern world, everything is fast-paced. Everything is available for us. We can get first-hand information, and upskill ourselves with proper skills. From this point, we can say that everyone is getting treated equally. Unfortunately, some still cannot reach their full potential due to a lack of support. Developing countries and underdeveloped countries do not have the luxury to support their potential students because of a lack of infrastructure. In this situation, Aspire Institute has come a long way in helping them reach their goals.
Aspire Institute: Aspire Institute was founded by Harvard University in 2017. It is a nonprofit organization. Their leadership program, Aspire Leaders Program, is a fully founded online leadership program. They allow a community of peers and renowned teachers to network and learn from each other. More than 150 countries participated in this leadership program.
Criteria: This program is made for students who are from poor backgrounds (socially and financially). This program has certain criteria that need to be fulfilled by participants before they are qualified to participate in it. These criteria are all to make sure real people can get access to this program. They are:
1. First-generation to attend university, meaning their parents did not complete an undergraduate degree.
2. Low-income background.
3. Ages 18-29.
4. Current undergraduate students or recent. graduates.
5. Students impacted by armed conflict. and/or a natural disaster.
6. Intermediate English level.
About the program: This program consists of 3 modules. They are known as Modules 1,2,3 respectively. They all have their specific purpose.
Module 1: Module 1 is all about understanding oneself and exploring one’s personal and professional development. During this module, learners need to explore their strengths, learn to articulate their professional skills, and build their soft skills. These include gaining cultural awareness and competency through peer interactions. All of these are beneficial for participants’ personal and professional journeys.
Module 2: This module consists of masterclasses developed by Harvard University faculty. A certain number of masterclasses are offered to the participants in this module and they must at least participate in one masterclass. The upper limit is up to the participants as they do not forbid participants from taking more classes. Rather they encourage them. These masterclasses each hold significant information and they pique the curiosity of the participants. Opening a new door to them, with their unique ideas and thoughts. This module encourages participants to generate new ideas and how to utilize them by doing discussions along with their peers.
Module 3: This module is dedicated to identifying the leadership qualities of participants. The theme of this module is understanding various components of leadership and studying them in depth. They give different materials for participants to study and analyze. The final assignment of this module is to identify one problem in the participant’s community and how they can solve it. Along this journey, they can join the discussion and further improve their reasoning abilities.
Benefits: Participants can gain numerous benefits from this program.
A)Gain access to fully-funded HarvardX courses and leadership development tools
B)Participate in live seminars with Harvard and world-class faculty
C)Exchange ideas in a virtual classroom with a global community of peers
D)Apply for grant and mentorship opportunities
Aspire has been doing a marvelous job in changing the lives of the first generation of low-level countries. Their dedication should be appreciated and this type of program should be encouraged. Programs like this have a positive impact on our society. Their small good deeds can be life-changing for many people. We should raise awareness of people so that they can participate in programs like this.
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Writer,
Samsul Alam Roni
Intern,
Content Writing Department,
YSSE.