Global Leadership Experience challenges students to solve the urban equation
What makes a city smart? That was the question put to one hundred students from universities across Montreal who participated in Canada’s first Global Leadership Experience (GLE).
The four-day event, hosted recently by Concordia, is one of several global programs run by Common Purpose, an internationally recognized leadership development provider.
Sophie Campbell, the program director of Common Purpose’s Global Student Team, welcomed the students to the four-day conference. “We hope that the Global Leadership Experience helps you change the world,” she said, adding that participants would have to step outside of their comfort zones and be prepared to “go with the flow.”
“The GLE was incredible,” said Concordia mathematics student Julia Vo. “It was well organized, thought-provoking, challenging, and collaborative.”
Over the four days, participants discussed and debated, looked at case studies and presented group work. They also networked with local organizations and received mentorship from senior executives from the Power Corporation of Canada, an international management and holding company.
Each activity was geared toward building leadership skills while getting students to discuss urban spaces and what makes them work.
While groups came up with a multitude of answers for the “smart city” challenge, a common finding among them was that Montreal itself is a good example in many ways.
“Montreal is doing an incredible job when it comes to diversity. And to me, and numerous other people from the conference, this is what makes a city smart,” said environmental sciences student Louise Delaigue.
Ali Sangari, a software engineering student, agreed, saying that Montreal has “many innovative and courageous people who are responsible and care about where we live and how we interact with our environment.”
For Vo, a smart, liveable city is defined by a strong sense of community, sustainability, collaborations, and a great calendar of social events.
But the conference was about more than just the challenge. The activities and interactions helped students develop abilities that are indispensible for leadership.
“The most important thing I learned from this conference is that when you are diplomatic and proactive, and act as a leader, you can accomplish more within a team than when you don't apply those things,” said Vo.
Through group work, students learned to see the strengths in their differences, and to respect each other’s backgrounds. They also gained confidence in public speaking and presenting.
“It taught me a lot about networking, and helped me use my leadership skills the right way,” said Delaigue. “This course really gives a voice to young leaders, suffering in a world that has so much trouble communicating.”
Though the program only lasted a few days, Campbell reminded students that leadership is a journey. “We want you to take these ideas forward, so that it isn’t just about these four days and what happens here,” she said.
Keeping the momentum of the GLE going is important to Delaigue, Vo and Sangari. Vo said she would continue to use what she learned from the conference in her everyday life, especially in team situations. Delaigue said she plans on volunteering and working with some of the organizations she interacted with during the conference. Sangari hopes to build on her ability to become a leader.
“Finding innovative solutions to existing problems and taking initiative to implement these solutions should become part of our beings,” said Sangari. “This is what I plan for myself, too.”
Read more about Common Purpose GLE.