# Ubuntu: Developing Future STEM Leaders With Michigan's Leadership and Technology Global Course in Cape Town

## TL;DR

This paper describes a study abroad program in Cape Town that focuses on leadership in STEM with a focus on diversity and Ubuntu values.

## Contribution

The program centers gender-minoritized leaders and uses Ubuntu principles to challenge traditional leadership and study abroad narratives.

## Key findings

- Ubuntu values frame leadership practices in the course.
- Participants' voices disrupt traditional leadership and study abroad stories.
- The program emphasizes diversity, inclusion, and cultural competency.

## Abstract

This article explores the conceptualization, design, and implementation of the University of Michigan's inaugural Leadership and Technology Global Course in Cape Town, South Africa. This 3‐week study abroad experience centered the perspectives of gender‐minoritized leaders in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to demonstrate the importance of diversity, inclusion, and cultural competency for effective leadership practice. The values of Ubuntu (i.e., interconnectedness, community, compassion/empathy, responsibility, reconciliation/healing) frame the themes that emerged each week of the course and illuminate leadership best practices. With the voices of the 12 participants foregrounded, this article presents counternarratives, to disrupt both leadership and study abroad stories most often told.