How would you describe the relationship between the work carried out by the BAI Academy and Foundation and the development of industry and society in Angola?When you work with the development of skills as your perspective and mission, whether they are technical or behavioural, as is the work we have been undertaking, I would undoubtedly describe this relationship as one of construction, of active contribution to the development of our society. Not only for the industry sector, but also precisely because of the importance it has.
To produce, whatever the area of industry, from the extraction industry or processing industry, to the manufacturing industry, besides raw materials, laboratories, machines, technology, you need competent men and women with knowledge that allows them to use, optimise, create and increase productivity, to grow, to reach levels of efficiency and high performance that, I believe, we can only achieve by knowing how to do it well, systematically and repeatedly.
Now, this has been our main concern, to create and offer programmes that enable, on the one hand, professionals to be endowed with technical skills, and on the other to stimulate the use of multiple intelligences, namely social intelligence, self-management, empathy, skills that we do not learn in any technical school, but that determine, to a great extent, the leap from potential and talent to high performance and that will help us to live with another type of resource in this current, so-called BANI (Brittle, Anxious, Nonlinear and Incomprehensible) world.
We all know that we can act in a certain way, respecting ethnic, cultural and generational diversification, without forgetting that we are part of a world about which we can have no doubt that it is global. What happens in China has repercussions here, as we have seen.
We are also aware that for development to take place the financial markets must allow it, and they operate according to universal principles. For this reason, our programmes began by being very much geared towards this sector, and students have access to and enjoy experiences framed within a broad perspective, but with the local context and legislation.
Do you think that the work and prestige of the institutions you head have already travelled beyond Angola’s borders?
I am sure they have, but we still have a way to go to ensure relevant international certifications that are part of our goals and strategy. But for now, I can say that our work, although initially geared towards the local market, is sustained by management practices valid anywhere in the world. We established partnerships right from when we first started, with schools such as, for example, the Católica Lisbon School, which has a very good quality track record; later, we did the same with ESAI, ISEG, the VdA Academy, MTW, IVENS and this has mutual advantages, as we are able to offer programmes on certain subjects and with a quality that we could hardly achieve with national teachers alone.
Thus, awareness of our work has become evident. Also, for this reason, from our side, we work with dedication, commitment; together we create new products that otherwise would be totally different. It is important to mention that joint programmes are often designed in partnership and are taught by both foreign lecturers and BAI/ISAF Academy lecturers. These lecturers are fully engaged in the programmes, so they also benefit from the experience of teaching at other levels.
Partnerships with institutions with an international vocation widen the geographical scope of action, and if the lecturers experience other situations, so do the students, and our name and brand will be heard in other places. On the other hand, the pandemic has broadened our horizons because we have been able to create and offer online training, but with a focus on Portuguese-speaking countries. I would like to highlight the series of webinars we called «The COVID-19 White Paper», held in partnership with IPP from Cape Verde and CEJES from Angola, which included speakers from the many corners of the Portuguese-speaking world.
Soon afterwards, we conquered a space for these countries and in some courses, especially post-graduate courses, we have students who are not from Angola or do not live in Angola.
«We knew we needed to give the community an opportunity for learning outside the classroom context»
Your areas of activity cover Education, Health and Social Welfare, Art, Culture and Sport, but social solidarity has also taken an increasingly larger slice of your agenda. Can you tell us a little about this decision?
From its inception, this project has been underpinned by the importance of social solidarity for its development and growth. When, in 2013, we created the headings «Great Works Great Films», «The Book of My Life», «Poetry on Wednesdays» and «Author’s Word», our main concern was to find spaces for the exchange of ideas and reflection, without charging anything for it, that would arouse the curiosity of the public in general, but particularly of young people, as we knew that we needed to give the community an opportunity for learning outside the classroom context.
By the end of 2013, 325 people had attended cultural events, while 2018 was a milestone for us as 16,824 people visited us. By this time, we had already diversified our cultural scene by adding «My World My Future», «In Conversation With» and other workshops and conferences, always with the aim of encouraging discussion and analysis of relevant topics for all quarters of our society.
Corporate social responsibility has always been behind the cost-free nature of our cultural activities, as our guest speakers freely give their time, allowing us not to charge for attendance, while the institution is also responsible for the production costs of these events.
As stated in our mission statement, we want to contribute to the development of senior management, promoting knowledge, technical, behavioural and cultural skills in a continuous transfer of knowhow, and we believe that we have done so in the various levels of education that we have been implementing, in the investment in curricula with a strong extracurricular component and in an organisational culture that favours serving with excellence, ethics and cooperation, which has led us to acquire a founding character and today to be developing our work sustained by four pillars of intervention: Education, Health and Welfare, Cultural and Sport, being able to reach more people, but always bearing in mind the importance and role of education for the development of nations.
A community and a country necessarily need to invest in the training, in all areas, of its population. In this sense, your institutions, besides providing a service to the country, are they also an example for others to follow?
I believe that everyone should contribute towards change, and we know the importance that education and training/instruction have for the development of countries. Our institution, like others, has been working to build the capacity of Angolan management employees and young people. As I mentioned earlier, ever since our creation our aim has been to support, encourage and boost education, whether in the classroom or outside it, because for us good professionals acquire technical skills, but also behavioural skills. We are guided by rigour and excellence, by constructive partnerships and by a belief in the value of knowledge. Time will tell whether we will be an example to follow, as our aim is to work towards continuous improvement, serving those who come to us with quality and competence, aiming to become a school of reference, both nationally and internationally.
What figures can you give us that demonstrate the effectiveness of the work you have done over these years?
Over these nine years of activity, the BAI Foundation/BAI Academy has been a benchmark in the training and capacity building of thousands of Angolans and more besides, who with each day and continuously benefit from trainers, teachers and other professionals of excellence from the national and international market.
Our Higher Institute of Administration and Finance (ISAF) offers three degrees and, since it opened, in 2017, 1515 students have enrolled, of whom 226 from nine provinces have benefited from full scholarships. In our professional training area, since 2021, more than two thousand training activities have been undertaken, including classroom training, online training, e-learnings, forums, lectures, seminars and team-building, involving almost one hundred thousand trainees, including private individuals and employees of institutions from different sectors of the public and private domain, totalling more than eight million hours of training.
Figures are, undoubtedly, fundamental for measuring and evaluating the impact which the BAI Foundation/BAI Academy has had on the life of people and organisations. However, there are results and feelings that just can’t be measured, which sometimes come down to no more than a simple smile or a warm «thank you», and this is what drives us!
What assessment would you make of these years of the BAI Academy?
They have been nine years of history and stories since the official opening in 2012, and for us, time is something precious, as there is no going back. I am biased, as I was invited to be part of the project, for the design of the concept, in 2010, and I still remember the first visit I made to the site, where the land only had foundations and the beginning of the construction works.
This year I’ll have been working ten years on this project and I can say, with a great deal of gratitude, that it has been a pleasure, especially for the team, for the culture and for what we consider we are giving to our society and country.
Since then, we have built a cohesive team, we have overcome obstacles, we have added teaching levels, we have supported Culture and Society, but always gradually, with small yet safe steps.
We have been a functioning institution for nine years, with training programmes in various areas of knowledge, always geared towards the needs of the Angolan market. I believe that we have developed and consolidated ourselves as an Academy of Life, educating and training citizens, with a strong focus on enhancing Education and cultural awareness-raising.
Our operations, based on three distinct segments of training – professional, geared towards technical areas of finance, banking, insurance, accounting and behavioural areas; training for executives with various post-graduate courses in Human Resources, Bank Management, Management Control or Agricultural Business and the opening of the Higher Institute of Administration and Finance, with three degrees, namely Accounting and Finance, Bank Management and Insurance and Financial Management IT – has set us apart and contributed to being recognised as an innovative brand with excellence and rigour, which is guided by ethics and professionalism.
Like all institutions worldwide we have had to adapt, to think about how to diversify what we offer to meet the needs of our customers and today we know that distance learning is here to stay, but that people want to have fun while they learn and to do so in any place or circumstance. We also know that, if they were already so before, today partnerships are fundamental and that exchange of experiences should and can be universal.
We are heading towards internationalisation, but we have not forgotten the commitment we have to the future of our young generations, investing in community social responsibility projects and outside the country’s capital, in scholarships for students of worth, in encouraging culture and sport, but, above all, in the belief that change begins with each one of us and with the contribution we can make – however small it may seem it will always be immense for those who have nothing.
«Everyone must contribute to change and we know the importance that education and training/instruction have for the development of countries»
What are the goals outlined for the near future of the BAI Foundation and Academy?
Commitment to and investment in Human Capital «is priceless, but a lack of it has a very high cost». We believe in continuous improvement so that we can make a difference in people’s lives. This is a fundamental pillar of our way of being. We will continue to strive for high standards of quality, rigour, ethics and responsibility, so that we can, in fact, contribute to the generational transformation and development of our country.
The change in mentalities, business models and organisations has never been so rapid. The tsunami of changes and lightning-fast adaptations that societies have experienced in the last two years have brought to the surface fragilities that everyone knew, but few recognised. The changing social, cultural, political and economic paradigm has taken on new contours. The only truth that remains unchanged is that all these changes are made by people. Only they have the ability to be, to do and to build. Our role is to help ensure that this transformation is made by capable and responsible individuals and professionals.
The year 2020 forced a rapid adaptation to new trends and realities, accelerating the need to be more comprehensive and diversified in what we offer. As is its perogative, the BAI Academy’s coming years will be fertile in innovative programmes, new formats and content suitable to the needs of individuals and companies.
The market can expect an agile, proactive, supportive and responsible Academy, which will work towards identifying the needs and defining the training courses that are most appropriate for the development of each professional, but also in placing their talent and potential at the service of organisations’ goals.
BAI Academy aims to increase its footprint in Angolan and Portuguese-speaking society and develop programmes that will reach a wider share of society. The Academy with the rigour and quality as always, but with a bolder, more dynamic vision and increasingly close to its customers and partners.
The BAI Foundation/BAI Academy is the partner of Life and for Life!
