By Paul Elwell, The Daily Iowan
For the third year in a row, the University of Iowa will host young leaders from Africa for a summer program.
The Mandela Fellowship is a program of the Young African Leaders Initiative, which began under former President Barack Obama. Its purpose is to bring African leaders to the United States to hone their professional skills and make connections.
Since its inception in 2014, more than 3,000 African men and women between the ages of 25 and 35 have visited educational institutions across the country.
Institutions that would like to host the fellows must apply. The UI has won three years in a row, even this year, when the number of accepted institutions was reduced from 38 to 27.
Dimy Doresca, the director of the Mandela Fellowship at the UI, says this is a testament to the UI’s educational prowess.
“This showcases the strengths we have to offer the fellows, such as our strong background in agriculture, entrepreneurship, industrial technology, and healthcare,” he said.
Doresca said these four things set the UI apart.