Case studies

For many years Absa has provided access to education through its scholarship programme. In 2021, it introduced the Absa Fellowship Programme, a more focused scholarship programme combined with a specially curated leadership development programme  aimed at young leaders across the African continent.

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The Absa Fellowship Programme launched in 2021 with the first intake of scholars: 50 first year university students at 6 different universities across South Africa. The programme provides academic funding and expert guidance to help these young leaders rise and  shape the future of the African continent.

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With the well-publicised challenges students faced due to the Covid-19 pandemic, such as the shift to online learning and social isolation, it was critically important for Absa that the students were supported in their transition from high school to university. For most of the students, they had faced an extremely disrupted final two years of high school and had to adapt to online learning. Many of the students also came from disadvantaged backgrounds. Starting a university degree is challenging at the best of times; however, Absa recognised that these challenges were exacerbated against the backdrop of university closures, online learning, and the pressures that come with maintaining academic results.

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As part of Absa’s commitment to provide psycho-social support to the Absa Fellows, Elevate were engaged to develop a bespoke programme that would set these students up for success across their university degree. Elevate drew on its research and insights working with 3,000 schools, universities and organisations across 15 different countries and identified 3 core focus areas to support the students:

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1. Providing mentoring support in the form of a role model who could act as a ‘big brother’ or ‘big sister’ to the students starting their degrees;

2. Providing practical study skills to help students to adapt to the ‘step up’ to a more independent form of study and academic rigor required at a university level;

3. Providing subject-specific academic support for the students to help them in their chosen area of study.

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The Elevate programme started with a pre-programme survey to determine the students’ biggest areas of need. Concerningly, the survey revealed that only 48% of students felt prepared for the academic challenges they would face in their first year, and 24% of students regularly set aside time to do independent work.

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To address these issues, Elevate conducted three study skills workshops covering:

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1. Time management and independent learning;

2. Effective study skills and note-taking;

3. Exam preparation and exam room skills.

 

These workshops were facilitated by young, engaging presenters who had recently faced and aced their first year of university. By using a young presenter, the students were able to relate to the messenger and the content of the workshops felt more credible. The workshops were run in small groups to encourage collaboration between the cohort, and the students walked away with practical study skills techniques that could be applied immediately:

 

• "I really enjoyed being part of the workshop as I learnt a lot of valuable skills that will be very helpful for me in future” - Bonke

• "The workshop was a huge success. I learnt a lot about making my schoolwork more interesting so I can enjoy learning. I'm very grateful as I got good information and tools I can use for studying” – Lerato

• "I really think the workshop was insightful and as a first-year student I really needed that” - Bonke

• "I thought it was greatly interactive and a really good way of learning. I look forward to putting the skills on preventing procrastination to use” - Chloe

• "Amazing session, will definitely use the tips and tricks that I learnt in today's session to help me achieve my best during the exams” - Jadon

 

The second component of the Elevate programme was to run 1-1 coaching sessions for the students, focusing on emotional wellbeing and their transition to 1st year studies. Elevate designed an initial survey for each student to identify their key concerns coming into the year. The results of this survey were then used to match the students to an Elevate coach based on their university, degree field, and general interests.

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Elevate then created a bespoke coaching programme for each student focused on addressing the core needs that they identified in the survey. Students were provided with a forum to share their concerns and anxieties with their coach, who was hand-picked for their ability to mentor 1st year students. The weekly coaching sessions had an emphasis on wellbeing and stress management techniques, as well as setting up a support network for the students at their university.

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