Leadership Development Institute

Purpose and objectives of the Institute:

The purpose of this Institute is to establish a leadership development program for students at AUI because:

1. Many experts agree that there is a dearth of quality leaders in many organizations and in many countries (Kouses and Pozner, 2002, House et al, 2004).
2. Morocco appears to have few leadership development programs and none for students enrolled in Moroccan universities where Morocco’s future executives and officials are being educated.
3. As a Moroccan university based on the American system and given that the prevailing models for student leadership development come from American universities, AUI is uniquely positioned in Morocco to initiate such an innovation.
4. Student organizations at AUI can function better with better leadership.
5. Better functioning student groups will help members gain organizational experience they need in their education and in their careers.

This program is co-curricular in that it augments leadership education that is provided in the curriculum. The objectives of the leadership development program will be as follows:

• Develop AUI students into successful leaders for Morocco’s future.
• Improve the effectiveness of AUI student organizations.
• Improve the professional development that students receive from participating in student organizations.
• Involve leadership program alumni as mentors to assist the leadership development of current participants.