Joyce Hilda Banda, Bachelor of Social Science

Experience Letter“..Whatever you do ………..strive to do it to the best of your abilities ….” These words of wisdom from the former President of Malawi, Hasting Banda, PhD, are of great inspiration to me. Going by the demands, intricacies, requirements and the dynamics that go with the modern world as it goes towards placement of gender at the core of development agenda in the context of many leadership portfolios that I find myself in and prospectively those coming in my way no course remained much more relevant and necessary for me to pursue than Gender and Development. However as somebody who is holding a very senior position in government, it was quite impossible for me to attend full time classes owing to the very demanding nature of my job. This however, as already pointed out, had to be viewed against a background of the prominence that gender discourse has acquired in the modern world. As a leader, I strongly believe that having greater technical know-how of the field of the gender and development is not only important but also quite imperative and pre-requisite to provision of modern and progressive leadership. Faced with this dilemma, what I needed was to find a system of education that would be sensitive to my situation and address it: the kind of education system that would fit into my demanding and tasking schedule with minimum inconveniences possible while at the same time providing me with an opportunity to develop my knowledge of the field of gender and development. Thank God AIU was my answer. AIU provided me with that opportunity to study Gender and Development as a must do course for any modern and dynamic leadership while I continue attending to the many demands of my work with minimal disturbances. What is even more captivating to me is both the nature of areas that the programme tackles which are not only modern but also every relevant to my own expectations and philosophy; and the manner in which the course is structured and offered .i.e. its interactive nature. These aspects of the programme as offered by the AIU coupled with the ever open and efficient help lines/services and forum that the University put in place, simply made my pursuit of the programme more interesting and enriching.Another interesting aspect of the AIU Programmes is the interactive nature in which it is administered. As already pointed out, the programme is structured and administered in such way that it goes beyond meeting the academic needs of its students. The online setup is made in such way that it also creates aninterface for digital social interaction not only among students and advisors but also the entire University community and other stakeholders. Joyce Hilda Banda