History

SIFE was established in 1975 in the United States of America by Robert T. Davis, a lawyer from Texas, on behalf of the National Leadership Institute.  It was originally a regional leadership training program attended by university students who were required to teach their communities what they had learned and then be judged competitively on the outcomes of their efforts.

The principle remains the same today but the scope has been broadened to encompass both teaching and learning through practical application of knowledge and skills gained at university in the wider community by means of student-designed outreach projects. SIFE programs are active at over 2,000 campuses in 48 countries. SIFE students are thinking globally and acting locally.

Mission

The mission of SIFE is to provide tertiary students with an opportunity to make a difference in their communities and to develop leadership, teamwork and communication skills through learning, practising and teaching the tenets of their academic discipline to enable others to participate more fully and effectively in the economic and social life of the nation.

Philosophy

We believe that true leadership grows out of the team environment and that ‘people support what they create’.  Through working and competing in teams, students learn to value individual members’ contributions and learn to be team leaders.

We believe that teaching and learning are interlinked and that the best form of teaching recalls the maxim ‘Tell me and I will forget, show me and I might remember, involve me and I will learn.’

We believe that the best way to help people is to equip them to use their talents to the best of their abilities: ‘give me a fish and you feed me for a day; teach me to fish and I eat for a lifetime.’

We believe that the best way to improve our own lives and the lives of others is through the ethical practice of the fundamental principle of a free society: to serve others by providing value.