Diploma in Global Leadership: My Journey

Throwback

It’s July 2021 and we’re in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic. During my daily ritual of perusing the newspapers, a full-page advertisement captures my attention. The University for Peace (established by the United Nations) through its Centre for Executive Education and Guardian Group are offering 10 scholarships to Caribbean nationals to pursue a Diploma in Global Leadership. I read that the program intends to equip potential and emerging Caribbean nationals with the necessary skills to effect positive change in their spheres of influence. My interest is sparked! I clip out the advertisement and place it on my desk. Later that day, I take a more in depth look at the program and I am intrigued. From what I can tell, the courses cover content in which I’ve had no formal training. Yet, I can already anticipate that I will benefit from them. In order to have a chance, I submit my application.

Fast forward to August 2021 when I received an email that I’m one of 10 Caribbean nationals to receive a scholarship to pursue a Diploma in Global Leadership. That very month I met with Esmeralda Bolaños (a Programme Specialist, fondly known as Esme). We discussed the courses that I intended to pursue and she provided advice on the order in which I should do them. Esme ended up being the person that I would correspond with the most during my time pursuing the diploma.

Reflections

Over the course of 11 months (September 2021 to July 2022), I completed 5 courses (i) Design Thinking, (ii) Educating in Changing Times: Reflect, Rethink, Rebuild, (iii) Positive Leadership, (iv) Tackling Finance in the Social Sector, (v) Social Media for Social Innovation. As I reflect on my journey, I am absolutely delighted and super thankful that I was granted this opportunity. You can well imagine that the past 11 months were not easy. I had to fulfil my regular responsibilities at work (as a lecturer) and simultaneously be a student. Yet, it was an exciting journey that I approached with a growth mindset. I learnt things that I’d never heard about. I was challenged to put concepts I’d learnt into practice. I harnessed new skills. My perspective changed!

All of the course facilitators that I interacted with (Mohit Mukherjee, Abhinav Khanal, Naita Chialvo, Art Sherwood, Shelly Galvin, Laura Garcia) were awesome. They all had different teaching styles and I’m so grateful that we crossed paths. One of the things that I appreciated with the UPEACE courses was the ‘Flipped Classroom’ approach. To supplement the classroom discussions, we were provided with articles to read, videos to watch and discussion forums to participate in. This ensured that every student could learn at their own pace and at the same time interact with the material.

For me, one of most challenging aspects of some of the courses that I took was submitting a final assignment/project. Although daunting at times, these were designed in a way that if one kept up with the weekly suggested activities, one was sequentially building content to add to the final assignment. Therefore, in the end, the task was not an onerous one. This applied to 3 of the 5 courses that I completed. What these final assignments allowed me to do was to invest time in real projects that I intended to work on in the near future and receive meaningful feedback from the course facilitators.

Already, I have put into practice many of the things that I’ve been taught in the UPEACE courses. By immersing myself in the experience of a student, I found myself reflecting on that experience and building a better experience for my students. Additionally, I now have more systematic strategies at my fingertips that I can apply to different aspects of projects. Overall, the experience has allowed me to strengthen my capacity in diverse areas. One of the most heart-warming aspects of pursuing these courses has been the opportunity to connect with a diverse group of individuals from different countries, individuals who have a vision to make a positive impact in their sphere of influence. It’s been a truly humbling experience to be among these people.

Opportunities often come when we’re very busy, when our to-do lists are full and there seems to be very little time to spare. Yet, time after time, I have learnt that when these unexpected opportunities arise, it is good to pause and evaluate whether they are worth an investment of my time. As I reflect on my experience, I can certainly say that pursuing a Diploma in Global Leadership at the University of Peace was well worth my time! As I continue my journey, I’d like to think that my teaching and all of the projects that I am currently working on and will work on in the future will be sprinkled with a bit of UPEACE magic!