The Mobile MDI Program is a management training program designed to equip frontline healthcare workers in Africa with core managerial knowledge to run and develop their respective health institutions efficiently and effectively.
The Global Business School Network (GBSN), with funding support from the Johnson & Johnson Foundation, launches the MDI training program that includes a curriculum of nine modules in a mobile format designed for frontline healthcare workers in Africa.
Video courtesy of the Global Business School Network
Mobile MDI provides access to content from GBSN’s previous experience delivering a one-week, face-to-face residential version of the program. It is intended as the foundation for healthcare professionals to continue their development as managers. “These programs will have a strong local/regional orientation in Africa, fostering peer-to-peer sharing and networking, and will enable application through project-based learning,” said Dan LeClair, CEO of GBSN.
Program content and curriculum were designed by four top universities across Africa within the GBSN member network: The University of Cape Town Graduate Business School (South Africa), Strathmore University (Kenya), Lagos Business School (LBS) – Pan-Atlantic University (Nigeria), as well as Institut Supérieur de Management à Dakar (Senegal). GBSN has partnered with the World Continuing Education Alliance (WCEA) to provide the technology platform and related support. The Mobile MDI program is already open to more than 500,000 registered health care workers on the WCEA platform.
Mobile MDI was developed with funding from the Johnson & Johnson Foundation which has been a strong supporter of the program from its inception in 2006. Since then, more than 2,500 participants from 39 African countries have graduated from the MDI program. In 2018 and 2019 MDI was taught in three languages: English, French and Portuguese.
As an organization, GBSN aims to address one of the most pressing concerns for businesses and NGOs alike in the developing world: the lack of an educated workforce with the skills and knowledge to build businesses and lead teams to success. Instead of encouraging talented students to leave their communities for education, GBSN promotes access to management education at home. By building the capacity of local faculty, modernizing educational methods, and developing programs that meet local needs, GBSN provides a sustainable solution to meet the management needs in the developing world.
In addition to supporting educational programs, GBSN aims to strengthen business schools’ role in shaping a collective response to our most critical challenges. Through participation in the MDI program, business schools can directly contribute to the development of management and leadership skills in important industries that directly serve communities, such as healthcare.
About GBSN
The Global Business School Network is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that partners with business and management schools, industry, foundations, governments, and aid agencies to improve access to quality, locally relevant management and entrepreneurship education for the developing world. With a growing network of over 100+ leading schools on 6 continents, GBSN fosters cross-border networking, knowledge sharing, and collaboration both within the network membership and with the broader business education and development communities. Through international events and capacity-building programs, GBSN engages network members to advise, train and mentor regional educators. And through publication, partnership, and speaking opportunities GBSN advocates for the importance of management education in economic and social development efforts. www.gbsn.org
