Welcome Weekend 2024: A Community to Walk the Oxford Journey With
The Welcome Weekend is a tradition and a core component of the Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Trust’s Leadership Programme – an initiative designed to prepare scholars to take on leadership roles following their study at Oxford University. Oxford has its traditions, and this adds to the ones I have come to know of in the last two weeks. I feel lucky to be a part of this programme, which marks the start of my journey at Oxford. Before I go any further reflecting on my experience of the weekend, let me roll it back a bit.
Where did this journey start?
Left to right: Scholars Alisher, David, May, Vanessa, and Alaa at Worcester College
Some WHT scholars exploring Worcester college during the Welcome Weekend
Five years after my undergraduate programme, I knew it was time to go back to school with a focus on what I envisioned my career to be: a business leader delivering impact through sound business practices. Unfortunately, the funding to make this a reality wasn’t forthcoming until WHT came through with a scholarship offer. The decision to go back to school is never an easy one, especially if you have to leave employment and take your chances in a foreign land. Settling in becomes a challenge as you try to find your way around. This is where the Welcome Weekend comes in.
On Friday September 27, 2024 I joined 34 scholars for the WHT Welcome Weekend at Worcester College, one of the 43 colleges in Oxford University. We started with a formal introduction of the Programme by the WHT CEO and Director, Alexandra Henderson who outlined the essence of the wholesome experience they had put together for scholars: an opportunity to foster connections, build communities, and shape global priorities with a moral conscience.
The weekend was structured around two main tracks: Moral Philosophy discussions where, in different groups, we read case studies, discussed, and debated conflicting ideas on power, globalisation, and equality. Our discussions helped in fostering a sense of camaraderie in the cohort while also broadening our horizon as scholars shared insights grounded on real-world experiences and observations. It also served as a global perspectives crash-course for scholars to learn about other countries.
Business Challenge where the organisers emphasised the essence of embracing an entrepreneurial mindset as leaders. Scholars were presented with practical problem statements to ideate around with the aim of generating commercially viable and socially impactful solutions. In my team, we worked on a solution to unlock capital from minoritarian investors in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) for sustainable agriculture in Africa.
Scholars discussing their business ideas during the welcome weekend
The weekend also infused social activities including the Uncomfortable Oxford Tour, Dinners, English Tea among others. I started with traditions, so I’ll finish with one – in Oxford we have dinners called “formals.” You know that Sunday best you’ve always wanted an opportunity to wear? Dress or Suit? Formals are here specifically to help you get an excuse to wear them and so I am on my journey to having my ties back on.
The Welcome Weekend has helped me make new friends, a community to walk the Oxford journey with, and most importantly, it has started my MBA journey. Cheers to a great year and future ahead!
