Universities worldwide are becoming increasingly interested in the importance of emerging co-curricula that focus on developing graduate attributes beyond specific academic disciplines. This is being influenced by industry demands for graduates with behavioural and cognitive skills aligned to the work they will do in their early careers. This paper presents findings of a formative evaluation of the Emerging Student Leaders Programme (ESLP) implemented by the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa. The authors adopted a theory and implementation evaluation design and their findings show that the programme conforms to established best practice and, given the pressure on universities to offer specialized training, may serve as a model for other higher education institutions in South Africa and elsewhere.
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