About SIFE
Mission
The Mission of SIFE is to challenge university students to make a difference in their communities and to develop their leadership, teamwork and communication skills through learning, practising and teaching the principles of free enterprise. This enables community members to participate more fully and effectively in the economic and social life of the nation.
One of the major benefits of SIFE is that it encourages students to look beyond the boundaries of the academic environment and apply their learning in a practical way. This helps students to reinforce their theoretical knowledge and exposes them to worldly realities. This makes students ‘workplace ready’ and gives them a sense of corporate social responsibility.
SIFE as a Global Organisation
SIFE Australia is part of the SIFE Global organisation of countries participating in the development of students and their communities through encouraging them to participate in ‘service learning’. It is a process that develops strategic links between students, their universities, their communities and both the private and public corporate sectors. The central element of SIFE is that students should use their university knowledge to teach others something that will benefit them. Teaching is the best way to confirm learning and stimulate the desire to gain a deeper understanding of any subject. SIFE puts particular emphasis on initiative and innovation in the teaching process.
SIFE Australia
SIFE Australia Ltd is an unlisted, not for profit, public company limited by guarantee. It is funded by generous donations of financial and in-kind assistance by leading Australian corporations, whose leaders and executives also give their time and expertise. There is no fee for a university or an individual to participate in SIFE, either as a program or at the National Competition.
SIFE 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 1,700 campuses in 42 countries. SIFE students are thinking globally and acting locally.
SIFE 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.
For more information on the structure of SIFE, its sponsors, and other SIFE related information, please click on the SIFE Australia link below.
