Young Leadership Workshop 2018 was carried out from July 10th to Jul 12th 2018 (3 days). Same as previous three workshops, Dr. Ehssan Sakhaee, Director of the Undergraduate Leadership Program at the Faculty of Engineering & IT at the University of Sydney in Australia, thankfully organized the three-day workshop.
The workshop aims to help student 1) build his/her leadership skills, 2) experience overseas leadership education, 3) develop good English Communication skills, 4) learn something that engineering/science students seldom encounter during their postgraduate course such as Self/Stress Management and Creativity and Innovation in Research.
From the first day, Dr. Sakhaee asked students to fill in the form (www.mypaldip.com), which has been developed by him for the management of such workshops held by him. The form included questions of 1) Who are you?, 2) What is one of your strengths?, 3) What is one of your weakness?, 4) What is important to you?, 5) Why is it important?, 6) What is currently your biggest challenge?, 7) What motivates you? The answers from students were shared and discussed. The day is to find ourselves through the understanding of who we are and the value we have.
In the second day of the workshop, effective communication was highlighted on the day. Communication with different language is a challenge to students. Moreover, carrying out the communication effectively is another story. Written and oral communication were explored during the day, especially from the view point of western culture.
Last day of the workshop became more interactive and conversational. Advanced topics were freely discussed. Topics are chosen not only by Dr. Sakhaee but also by participants. Questions through the workshop as well as problems students face at the moment were asked and Dr. Sakhaee explicitly addressed them. Final comment from Dr. Sakhaee remains in our mind: practice what we learnt during the workshop and apply them in our daily life.
The workshop is an extraordinary event for HW students because it provides something that they do not normally experience in the daily life. Although the number of participants is less than last year, I believe students searching for something must have gained something out of the workshop: ability to see the environment around them in a different way and build a philosophy supporting their future career. Always, thank to Dr. Sakhee for organizing such a unique workshop, and also as usual support from Humanware office must be acknowledged.