April 20th, 2015: The challenges posed by city sprawl were the subject of an intensive week of debate and action planning for a group of students from Canadian University Dubai (CUD) who took part in a recent event to introduce young people to the principles and practices of leading change in global society.
The Global Leader Experience, led by UK-based leadership development organization, Common Purpose, was hosted by DP World and brought together university students from across the UAE in an invaluable experience that saw them receive guidance and mentoring from leading business executives as they worked through the four-day challenge.
Members of the CUD delegation, which included Finance and Accounting student Adnan Marei, and Bachelor of Science in Telecommunication major, George Bandak, were first assigned to groups, where they were then introduced to the project brief.
Adnan explained, "Our challenge was to consider a global problem - city sprawl - from a local perspective. We had to look at our own environment, local businesses, transport and service providers, and come up with solutions that could be implemented to deal with the issue here in Dubai."
George continued, "The process allowed us to undertake emersion visits, to meet with some of the key organizations who would be involved in addressing the challenges, such as the RTA and metro operators Cerco, to discuss the main issues and potential solutions."
Throughout the process the students benefitted from the mentoring expertise of senior business executives from private sector organizations, who shared their expertise in a range of areas including investment, operations, HR, media and business development. The teams were also supported by academic mentors and were guided in the development of their solutions by representatives from host organization, DP World.
Both Adnan and George took the opportunity to lead their teams in stakeholder discussions, and by day four, the groups had worked up sets of recommendations proposing concepts ranging from integrated transport systems and greenbelt development, to the creation of self-sufficient comminutes supported by remote services such as distance learning and online shopping.
CUD Business School Professor, Jeanette Teh, was one of the academic mentors for the program. She said, "The interaction with and receiving feedback on their ideas from business professionals, many of whom were high-level executives, from diverse industries was an unparalleled learning experience for our students."
For Adnan, it was an extremely challenging but rewarding four days. He said, "The process pushed us to our limits on a daily basis; it has helped me progress as a leader, as well as developing my skills in presentation, critical-thinking and relationship building."
Speaking of his own reflections on the event, George concluded, "This program was an extremely valuable lesson in leadership. I learnt that leading is not about speaking for your team members, but about supporting each of them to bring forward their ideas and uniting them in a common direction."
On graduating from the program, the CUD participants joined a 50,000 strong worldwide alumni association, and gained access to the Common Purpose Massive Online Innovation Community - an international platform allowing them to connect with likeminded people across the globe.
Gallery
