SERC Malawi Partnership Highly Commended

A South Eastern Regional College (SERC) project, designed to support the development of female leadership in Malawi, has been highly commended in the Going Global Partnership Awards. 

The activity was recognised for empowering women leaders in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and for working towards gender equality in the sector in Malawi. The project was a collaboration between SERC, the Malawi Ministry of Labour and five colleges in the country. 

SERC has extensive experience in building female leadership capacity programmes. This helped to create a programme that delivered insight and confidence to the women in Malawi, who were motivated to create the change required to ensure a fully equitable and transparent leadership culture within the TVET sector in Malawi.  As SERC worked with both local colleges and with the government ministry, the programme has helped female leaders to work together to speak up and help shape policy related to gender equality in education.   

Two of the participants achieved the Chartered Management Institute Level 5 Award in Leadership & Management. One said that achieving the award has significantly enhanced her leadership practice in retaining female students enrolled in Automobile Mechanics.  

SERC’s project was Highly Commended at the Going Global Partnership Awards 2025, the inaugural awards for projects funded through the British Council’s Going Global Partnerships programme.  The judges commented, 

“The distinction reflects the exceptional quality and impact of the partnership which stood out in a highly competitive field. The commendation is a testament to the strength of the collaboration and meaningful contribution towards reaching the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”  

Jenny McConnell, Deputy Head at SERC’s School of Business, Health & Hospitality, who led the project commented, 

“We are delighted that our project and the participants have been recognised at the Going Global Partnership Awards. The participants tell us they grew in confidence and increased their capacity for effective decision making, as well as gaining enhanced leadership skills. From the interaction with the group, we were able to develop a Female Leadership Toolkit which can be applied across the sector in Malawi, providing new and aspiring female leaders with the skills to grow female leadership in key roles in TVET.” 

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