empowermefirst.college - mission & Values
We make higher education accessible - against all odds!
Our common values define who we are and how we behave. They are focused on the development of a sustainable
institution, serve to guide the institution through changing times and shape our Mission, Vision, and Goals.
The mission of empowermefirst.college is to build a better future for all. This includes individuals, our state, our nation, and our world. We fulfil our mission by preparing competent, committed, and reflective professionals as we engage in outstanding teaching, innovative and impactful research, and meaningful outreach.
Our mission and values
Education is a human right
We are committed to
- providing equal access to education, independent of gender, financial, educational and social status, background, belief, physical mobility or local educational inequalities.
- providing access to education relevant to 21st century realities and needs, independent of place, time, pace of learning.
- promoting equality, diversity and the rights of individuals to access high level education.
- promoting the social, democratic and economic development of individuals and their country.
- staying politically neutral, respect local legislation; the college’s legal jurisdiction is Switzerland.
- ensuring graduate competence, learner and teacher satisfaction.
- communicating effectively with students, teachers, tutors, authors, schools and universities, governments.
- living and promoting our values: Honesty, Integrity, Transparency, Respect, Trust, Professionalism, Innovation and Continuous Improvement.
to educate is to empower and to create a future away from conflict, corruption, repression, poverty and destruction. Independent minds can make socially conscious and sustainable decisions.
— Our Mission
Education is more than schooling.
Education is when students can relate the things they learn, when they understand the things they experience.
Education is to coach young people to develop their own learning and problem solving strategies, become curious and ask questions.
Education is to search, to be creative and crosslink learning and be innovative.
— Our Vision
When students are eager to learn in their lives, when they start to experiment and are keen to do their own research, we have succeeded to coach them into linking knowledge with reality.
We value and promote creativity, innovation, experimentation, and critical thinking. We value learning and the pursuit of knowledge as lifelong processes of transformational personal and professional growth.
— Our Story
We love people.
What We Care For!
Accessible education
With the pandemic the number of students out of school has risen from 256 million to over 1.6 billion. In Uganda alone 4,5 million students may never return to school.
Education is a human right and try to make it accessible to all via mobile devices.
Educate to understand
We learn what we can relate to our lives.
Learning that feeds our curiosity, our creativity, allows us to understand and develop, to connect theory with experience and create knowledge; we become independent thinkers.
Educate to innovate
Our teaching methods help learners to become innovators, leaders, decision- and policymakers.
We coach them to become start-ups, engineers, scientists and policy makers, to make a difference, in their community.
A better society
Education doesn’t just benefit the individual, it benefits society.
There will be economic growth, less corruption, less conflict, less unemployment, more democracy and better health care.
Equality
We are passionate about equality.
Gender, background, belief, physical mobility, lifestyle – all what counts for us is your passion for learning, your curiosity and your efforts.
Sustainability
We educate millions to understand how things are connected, to think outside the box and connect their learning with reality, to make decisions that reach further, to be creative and innovative.
Civic awareness
We value civic and global awareness of contemporary issues.
We promote the understanding and betterment of society and our world by engaging our students, staff and surrounding international community in meaningful discussions and activities.
Professionalism
We value kindness, respect and cooperation in all our interactions and value everyone as unique individuals.
We strive for excellence and foster a spirit of collegiality and professionalism.
We value individual and collective responsibility and accountability.
Decision making
We value participatory decision making that provides each of us the opportunity to contribute ideas, bring forth concerns, and explore options in developing consensus.
We value the roles of our sponsors and representatives, provide transparency, and trust them to carry our input forward for discussion and consensus building.
Positive environment
We value and strive to preserve the unique cultural multide of our student and teacher body and create an aesthetic environment which is welcoming, pleasing, and safe for all students.
We value an institutional attitude and culture that promotes health and wellness of all who are involved in the college.
Improvement
We value continuous improvement through the assessment of student learning outcomes, program effectiveness, and our decision-making processes.
We use the results of these assessments to pursue improvements in our courses, programs, practices, and coach student encouraging them through positive feedback.
Academic excellence
We value high quality education via a robust curriculum designed to meet the career and transfer needs of our student community.
We equally value an environment of academic success and wellness for all of our students through effectively integrated support services.