The Global Leaders’ Alliance (GLA) Fellowship program, an initiative by the Alliance School of Liberal Arts (ASLA), Alliance University, has been shortlisted for the prestigious Times Higher Education (THE) Awards Asia 2023 in the ‘International Strategy of the Year’ category. Only eight programs made the shortlist from nearly 700 submissions from 16 countries and territories. The THE Awards are widely recognized as the ‘Oscars of higher education’ and anyone involved in the sector is eligible.

Launched in 2022, the GLA Fellowship aims to prepare outstanding young minds from all over the world to become leaders in various fields. The fact that the fellows come from heterogenous educational backgrounds ranging from economics to cultural studies, from computer science to film-making, is turned into an advantage for a program that is inherently ‘multi’, in fact, ‘trans’-disciplinary in approach. The view that leaders cannot limit themselves to the silos of their chosen specialization and must embrace the broadest possible perspectives forms the core philosophy of the program.

In essence, the GLA program is not only the vanguard of a paradigmatic shift in the liberal arts scene in India, but is also one of the prime movers in reimagining the university as a hub of art, culture and ideas. Making the most of the opportunity afforded by India’s G20 presidency, the second edition of the program is strategically seeking fellows from G20 nations to fulfil the program’s global mandate with renewed conviction.

The GLA program's success is largely due to the distinguished faculty from Oxford and other Ivy League or equivalent institutions. These world-renowned academics offer intensive transdisciplinary courses to the fellows, providing them with a one-of-a-kind learning experience. The program currently boasts 22 Oxford and Ivy League faculty members, which is a singular achievement amongst the institutions of the country.

The GLA program's inaugural batch attracted fellows from diverse backgrounds and countries, including Ghana, Ethiopia, the US, Russia, and India. In addition to the academic component, the fellows collaborated to launch two pioneering initiatives, namely, Glance which is the quarterly newspaper and Cosmopolis, the podcast channel. Both these enterprises include a conscious engagement with the idea of Bangalore and its multi-faceted identity. Such an enriching exchange with the local context is what makes the program global in the most complete sense possible.

The GLA program's selection as a finalist for the THE Awards Asia 2023 is a testament to its exceptional quality, impact, and innovation in higher education. The fifth annual THE Awards Asia winners will be revealed on June 21st during a ceremony of THE's Asia Universities Summit in Hong Kong.