The Convergence Of 33 Paths Into A Community Of Leaders
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On the 17th of September, the personalities behind the various country codes in our WhatsApp group came to life. We converged at Worcester College for what will be the start of a lifelong connection. 33 Scholars from 24 countries with various expertise were brought together through generous funding from the Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Trust and its partners to study at the University of Oxford. The truth is, it is unlikely that we would have ever formed close relationships or even met each other in our lifetimes, yet here we were.
Over the 3-days, we participated in a well-curated program by the Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Trust that forged strong bonds, emphasised the importance of acknowledging other viewpoints, and reinforced the need to celebrate and include diversity. Throughout the sessions, the resilience and grit of the scholars shone. This was evident in the different parts of this 3-day induction experience - the Moral Philosophy Seminar, the Enterprise Challenge, the selected stories at the Scholars at dinners, and our conversations with alumni, as we shared our various perspectives.
The Moral Philosophy Seminar
The Moral Philosophy Seminar consisted of pre-readings from excerpts of writings of various philosophers such as Machiavelli, Malcolm X, Jane Adams, David Goodhart, and Elizabeth Anderson. During the seminars, in smaller teams, we discussed our interpretations of the texts according to the three seminar topics: Power, Globalism, and Equality. The best part of this session was reflecting on the different positions backed by real-life examples from our home countries and personal journeys. This brought to the fore that each of our viewpoints is valid for various reasons. It also proved that the best way to reach a consensus is to understand the reasoning behind a stance. As global leaders with different experiences, this is key to working together. The Moral Philosophy Seminars also conveyed an awareness of the dynamics at play on individual, societal and global levels. Experts led us to focus on the core issues, guiding us to our appreciation of the forces at play.
The Enterprise Challenge
“...regardless of what you will do afterward, the tools you will learn from the Enterprise Challenge will be useful.” - Alexandra Henderson, Director & CEO Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Trust.
The above quote was the ethos of the Enterprise Challenge. The Challenge guides teams of scholars through the early stages of developing an enterprising idea into action. By the end of the induction, we each belonged to a team that would develop its business idea over the next year. Our enterprise ideas seek to contribute to solving SDG 4 - Quality Education, SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production, and SDG 13 - Climate Action, respectively. Though we have just started, the Enterprise Challenge allowed us to work in teams of diverse and rich experiences. It gave us the chance to pitch our ideas to mobilise more teammates and presented an avenue to leverage our skill sets to build on each other's ideas. These tools would undoubtedly be relevant regardless of our paths upon graduating from the University of Oxford.
Panels, Stories, and Conversations
Woven throughout the induction were panels, stories, and conversations. There was a panel of WHT alumni who shared advice on how to make the best of the year, another alumni panel described their experiences creating social change in their home countries. Also, there was an Enterprise Challenge panel where established entrepreneurs spoke about their entrepreneurship journeys. The scholars also engaged with dinner guests from the Oxford community. Curated into our dinners, a few Scholars shared their respective journeys to Oxford and their motivations for their study choices. Each of the stories exhibited defiance of the odds and resilience.
By the end of the induction, we had built a community with a better understanding of various cultures. In some respects, it seemed we knew each other for longer than three days because of the vulnerability and authenticity with which we approached the induction. This community has already proved very useful in rallying to get each of us settled into Oxford with home dinners already hosted by some Scholars and punting adventures ticked off our Oxford bucket lists. If the past few days are anything to go by, this is an exciting pathway to nurturing global leaders.
