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When I first heard about
AIU, there were many conflicting, confusing and misleading statements that were
immediately availed to me by some ‘well-meaning’ contemporaries. But after
doing my research and eventually discovering that our former president His Excellency
Mr. Chilufya Michael Sata, and the former president of Malawi Her Excellency,
Madam Banda had been through this institution, I knew I was dealing with the
winning team.

I went through the first
phase with a lot of anxiety and excitement as the University took me through
the process of ascertaining my personal goals, realigning my mindset, and
reassessing my life’s past present and future. By the time I finished all the
assignments in this phase, I came to realize that the lifeblood of andragogy is
anchored on relevance of acquired knowledge, skill and attributes. It also
dawned on me that, a mature adult already knows what he wants to do, and all he
needs are guidelines, some direction and consistent hard work. At some point I
wondered whether I had not deviated from my objective of obtaining my degree in
Mechanical Engineering!

When I started designing the
curriculum, I had a chance of comparing curriculums for Mechanical Engineering
around the globe. With the able bodied help of my capable tutors and course
supervisors, the curriculum was refined, and approved. What followed was the
most exciting phase of my studies – Phase Two. It involved researching,
documenting and writing on the core courses for my program. It was challenging
and required me to be disciplined with my time management. On a few occasions,
my tutor had to caution me about delayed assignments as I balanced my family
responsibilities, work, and studies. This
was a phase that forced me to work even on assignments which revealed my weaknesses!
But I forged on because that was an important part of my learning process. In
my final phase, I focused on majoring in the optional courses that I knew were
going to be very helpful.

Finally, I must admit and
acknowledge that it has not been an easy journey! Atlantic International
University lived up to its mandate of providing the needed support whenever I
met hitches. I sincerely want to thank AIU Management, my tutors and all staff
of this awesome university, for helping me achieve my long awaited goal. Thank
you Dr. Valcin, and your winning team.