Leicester Award Workshop 1

30/01/13

Any workshop in my opinion is a class where apart from learning more about whatever the subject may be, you are able to extend your interpersonal skills by working with others on a variety of projects in order to achieve the same common goal. For me, the first leicester award workshop, based around getting along in the job market, did just that. 

During the workshop, we were given the task of working in a team to complete a realistic challenge that a consultancy company might face. The task involved, as a consultancy company, finding a solution to building better relations between a large scale corporate race track and a nearby village, and then presenting a plan of the ideas to a panel of representatives from the racetrack so that they can choose which company’s plan they would like to implement. 

Initially the task was difficult due to the fact that I had never worked with my team before, and therefore we had to work out how the team was going to work together as we went along. I decided to take a leading role, by putting forward my first idea for the project in order to get the project off the ground. I suggested the idea of allowing the residents to voice their opinions at a meeting as a way of giving the residents a medium to pin point the exact problems they may have. This idea was well received and initiated a brainstorming session, in which I put forward other ideas. Shortly after we collectively decided on a 9 point action plan, that included economic actions, social actions and environmental action. Thus, I decided that splitting into three in order to work on each idea in more detail would be more time effective. This became one of the reasons towards our ultimate success, as we were able to create a more in depth plan that made it easier for us to not only present, but also to answer any queries that the panel had at the end. 

In smaller teams we prepared each aspect of the ideas and began to write a mini speech or a dialogue to explain them better. Then we came back together in the last 15 minutes of the challenge in order to collect our work side by side and make a powerpoint. It also meant that we had time to practice our presentation together. By having the last few minutes to do this, it meant that we were able to give reasonably well rounded, professional presentation, given the timeframe.  

Finally, although something new for me, I felt that by taking the lead in this task it was able to progress more efficiently. On a personal level it enabled me to try my hand at a different role in a group and I was able to get a lot more out of the workshop because of it. Now I believe that if I were to face a similar task to this at a selection day event, I would not have any qualms about performing in the same way as I did during this challenge. 

Mentoring: International Buddy Network and training day.

May 2012- Ongoing.

Late May 2012, I signed up to take part in the University of Leicester's International Buddy Network scheme as soon as it first came to my attention. In its basic form, it is a university run scheme to aid international students coming to Leicester to settle in and find their feet. This is done through allocating each new student that signs up, a mentor. The 'mentee' student can then meet up informally with their mentor, as and when it is felt necessary to chat or discuss any issues they may be having. As with any transition it is likely that the new student might have questions about university life and the culture in Britain, so ultimately the mentor is there to offer support and to help them find a solution.

In order to better equip us to do that, there was a training day to attend. The day, split in to different workshops, comprised of : Mentoring skills, Cultural and Diversity awareness, Signposting, Career skills and Specific training/details for the International Buddy Network itself.

The day taught us the general overview of becoming a mentor (i.e listening, keeping in contact, becoming a friend but not too close, professionalism.) but it also taught us us where we should direct mentees in order to fulfil different needs, (i.e finance, health etc) and made us aware of the transition that international students go through. 

During the day we acted out many role play situations. For example I, in the role of mentor, was given the task of responding to a mentee’s plea for help after suffering from insomnia for days. I then had to use the knowledge that I previously had and the knowledge that I had gained that day in order to respond a) in the correct manner and tone, and b) with the correct information. I decided that I would show compassion, yet I would not tackle this issue by myself. I would provide the mentee with information on healthcare at the university, advise them to speak to their personal tutor and finally potentially discuss some simple tips that I may have in the meantime. This exercise was both insightful and useful, an experience that will be useful to draw upon when the situation calls for it.

For me the day was useful in numerous ways, the first of which was the communication skills employed during each workshop. On many occasions it was necessary to work in teams to collect ideas together and this brought into play many interpersonal skills. Furthermore as the day ended with a small talk on careers and organising CVs and work experience. Although not a success the first time I created one, it did make me think about creating a blog for a short period of time. This last part of the day helped me to start focusing on my employability skills and gather together examples of these, almost a prelude to the Leicester Award I later undertook.

As a result of this day I contacted my mentees to make myself known to them and provide them with any information they might need. I have since found out from feedback that this has proved invaluable for all of my mentees, especially during the first few weeks. Additionally I feel that I have made many new contacts, with my mentees, which has been especially useful as I have also had the opportunity to practice my language skills with them.

UoL Modern Languages Society

A University of Leicester Modern Language Society Film event and committee meeting.
November 2012

At the end of the last academic year I was elected by my peers on to the University of Leicester Modern Languages Society committee as a Social Secretary. I applied as I wanted to make a difference within a society that I was already part of and had a passion for. After adjusting to the role and its pressures, I feel that it has become a very worthwhile part of my experience at university and it has provided me with. 

The role, as it suggests, involves mainly creating and overseeing events for this academic society, as well as supporting the society in other aspects and helping it to grow and mature. Therefore in the first semester of year 2, I took on the task to create an event with the aim to have it centre around our academic field.

 At first this proved difficult as the university department already provides many resources and puts on events outside of classes, such as debates or talks. Due to this, I had to come up with a fresh idea that would fit into the academic category and yet also still attract students to take time out of their busy schedule to go along. The idea that I came up with was to hold a foreign film evening, with food.

The first obstacle was the venue. In order to make the event more appealing to members, it needed to grab people’s attention and the way that I went about this was to add the added incentive of a meal as well as the film. This meant that the film viewing had to be at a suitable venue, either with kitchen facilities or nearby to them. After some research the best venue seemed to be the local arts cinema, The phoenix arts centre. http://phoenix.org.uk/

As it is a cinema purpose built for world films, and art exhibitions, complete with a cafe/restaurant, it ticked all of the boxes. Furthermore the organisation was a start up business that was looking to make more connections with the university of Leicester. 

In order to make the event a success, I met with both the manager and the restaurant manager to discuss the film options, food options and discounted tickets and drinks. As the society is funded by the students’ union to conduct academic events such as this, I was able to make the decision to discount the tickets even further for our members as the society could pay for the difference. Finally the event was publicised through word of mouth, social media, posters and the students’ union. 

At certain points in the process of setting up this event and afterwards I presented my research and results to the committee. This was invaluable as it aided the progression of the organisation and also provided time to brainstorm with other members, to get feedback and new perspectives. Furthermore it aided with my time management, as each week leading up to the event I would organise a different part of the event.

Ultimately, the result was a successful evening for all. Over 30 students from all years came to the event to watch the french film De rouille et d’os, (Rust and Bone) and enjoyed a meal. I feel that organising this event broadened my mind, as I networked and made contacts at the phoenix centre, I learnt about professionalism when meeting to discuss the event and it built my confidence, showing that I was capable of organising a sucessful event such as this. There have already been plans to create an event similar to this, building on its success.