Emerging Leaders in Technology and Engineering (ELiTE)

Universal access to education is a fundamental human right. Education gives way to incredible opportunities. However, an enriching education can be hard to come by, especially for young people in impoverished communities. To many students, schooling costs too much money or takes too much time away from household chores. Even when ambitious students make it to school, they often encounter inadequate resources, underpaid teachers and an apathetic attitude towards the educational system. A fundamental tenet of ELiTE is to bring educational resources to students who struggle to find a learning environment that fulfills all of their educational needs, regardless of gender, ethnicity, creed, wealth or social standing. 

Equally alarming are the fundamental flaws in the approach that many school systems take towards education. Academic achievement is praised (as it should be!), but at the expense of the rest of the population. Education is viewed by many as the means to 'escape' the poverty at home, rather than to take the lead to correct it. Patrick Awuah, the founder of a liberal arts college in Ghana (ELiTE's original location) remarks that "the typical graduate from a university in Ghana has a stronger sense of entitlement than responsibility." A formulaic winner-takes-all approach to education cannot produce the true leaders that our global society so desperately needs. At ELiTE, we believe that the dearth of free-thinking, socially responsible leaders may be the most devastating obstacle to development in the coming generation. 

Emerging Leaders in Technology & Engineering aims to supplement the existing educational systems of developing societies to enrich the growth of young thinkers and leaders. ELiTE does not follow any curricular requirements other than the pursuit of innovation. The program emphasizes hands-on problem solving as a means to address to local issues. To this end, ELiTE has students create experiments and design projects that reflect the daily challenges that their communities face. The program emphasizes perspective over knowledge, and provides a platform for students to discover their own abilities to affect change at home. As Patrick Awuah asserts, "the ability to create is the most empowering thing to happen to an individual."

The positive effects of ELiTE’s program are not restricted to the pupils alone.  All those involved, including program facilitators, international partners and the rest of the ELiTE network gain from the lessons taught in the classroom. The cross-cultural partnership between students and mentors encourages tolerance and respect. Furthermore, the act of developing and implementing ELiTE’s programs cultivate the entrepreneurial spirit that drives social advancement. At ELiTE we believe in the value of the whole as the sum of it’s parts, and we aim to cultivate individuals within the context of a collaborative society.