Analysis of the Global Scholars Programme - Essay Example

?Education brings different experiences and exposures for the learner; what really matters is how the learner exploits the opportunities that come along the way to build a professional network and expand the horizons. The Global Scholars Programme offered at the University of East London is one of those excellent opportunities that has helped me realize my true potential and given me the right exposure required to survive in today’s competitive world. It has not only helped me develop professionally but has also groomed me personally. This reflective statement will start with the introduction of The Global Scholars Programme; it then explains how the Programme that has developed from UK and Brazil has actually contributed towards my skill development and finally the statement emphasizes on how the Programme has led to the team building and how we as team members have interlinked with each other to make this experience successful. The Global Scholars Programme As the world is becoming a global village it is very important to understand each other’s cultures and work together cherishing the power of diversity. Slippery Rock University (2013) Website states and I quote “Diversity is an educational, functional, and institutional resource that should be cultivated, enhanced, and leveraged for optimal learning”. The Global Scholars Programme is focused on linking the students of different cultures so that they can share experiences and explore new international opportunities that can help them in their future endeavors. Students enrolled under this Programme are given the opportunity to work with foreign students of partner institutes under the supervision of a staff member on social enterprise projects. This Programme offers the students an opportunity to meet business leaders in other areas to identify their future career development options. UK and Brazil Partnership To present our project, the country we had to visit was Brazil. The whole idea of the project was to empower our targeted people and make them skilled so that they find themselves capable enough to gain employment during the Football World Cup 2014. Our target population mainly constitutes of marginalized community and Brazil Favelas was best to access these people. When we were in Brazil we met those people and shared ideas with them to understand their living conditions and take their opinion on this project. I had a variety of learning experiences and I gained several skills throughout my time in Brazil that are discussed in upcoming paragraphs. Skills Acquired through the Global Scholars Programme Global Scholars experience has polished my skills; although I am a confident person but most often I do not talk unnecessarily and take a passive role while in a team. However, with this experience I learnt that sometimes it is very important to be expressive and communicate ones opinions loudly. As a person, I do not take the role of a decision maker; I can well term myself as a ‘team worker’ who according to Belbin is a person who listens to others, care for other members and finds it more easy to implement decisions than taking decisions (Belbin’s Team Roles 2013). However, as I progressed I felt a positive change in myself; now I not only help others take their decisions but also, at times, assume the role of team leader where required. One of the most important skills I acquired during this project was time management. I can relate tis with our situation that how we realized the importance of being time conscious. One we were in Brazil, we had the specs of the project, we had the plans and we have visited different places that gave us insights into the issues we need to tackle to make our project viable; however, we hardly had anything structured. It was then we realized the importance of giving structure and shape to our ideas within the specified timeline. From this experience, I acknowledged how stress is reduced (Emmett 2009) and self-esteem is improved (Frings 2004) through time management. Another important area where I felt improvement was my communication skills. According to Lloyd et al (2009) communication is a tool that helps a person deal with conflicts existing within oneself. While I learnt to use the tool of communication more effectively, I recalled myself time and again that I need to be more active if I want to explore the opportunities to their fullest. I learnt how to express my ideas, when and how to contradict and how to make myself clear to others. Group Process The Global Scholars Programme has been one of the most productive experiences of my life as it has given me the opportunity to understand the effectiveness of working in teams. I have found the practical implementation of all the theory that I learnt in different courses. My experience of teamwork during this Programme can be related to the definition of team given by Belbin (1993, p. 152) that “a team is not a bunch of people with job titles, but a congregation of individuals, each of whom has a role which is understood by other members”. We, as a team, have a good collaboration and we distributed the work well to make sure everything is well-managed. I can well relate our teamwork to the “Tuckman’s Teamwork Theory”. Four stages of group development presented by Tuckman in 1965 were “forming, storming, norming and performing”. When I fit in my experiences to these four stages of team building, I can state without doubt that ‘forming stage’ was largely characterized by confusion and surprises. We had no idea how Global Scholars operate and we were not clear about our responsibilities and expectations of the supervisor as well as of other group members. This was the stage where I assumed the role of an observer. Then we entered the ‘storming stage’ in which we started assigning responsibilities; communication was at peak during this stage as we were in the phase of explaining the idea to each other and the role each team member is expected to perform. This was the stage when we faced most of the disagreements. Then there was the ‘norming stage’ where we come up as a team and a norm was set. Now we understand each other well and are clear on many of the aspects. Finally, there was the ‘performing stage’ where everyone in the group was highly charged and full of energy to implement the ideas. This is how we worked and progressed. Conclusion The Global Scholars Programme was a wonderful experience of my life and I strongly agree to Kolb’s (1984) idea of experiential learning that for experiences to offer important learning to the learners they must involve actively in the experience (active experimentation), they must have the capability to reflect (reflective observation), the must have the skills to conceptualize their experience (abstract conceptualization) and they must be able to use their experience in enhancing their problem solving ability, productivity and decision making (concrete experience). All in all, The Global Scholars Programme was a life time experience and has helped me enhance my skills, embrace new opportunities, understand new cultures and build contacts adding to my professional network. References Belbin, R M 1993, Team Roles at Work, 3rd edn., UK: Butterworth-Heinemann Limited. Belbin’s Team Roles 2013, Changing Minds, available from: http://changingminds.org/explanations/preferences/belbin.htm [accessed: 20 April 2013] Emmett, R 2009, Manage Your Time to Reduce Your Stress: A Handbook for the Overworked, Overscheduled, and Overwhelmed, USA: Bloomsbury Publishing USA. Frings, C S 2004, The Hitchhiker's Guide To Effective Time Management, 2nd edn., USA: Amer. Assoc. for Clinical Chemistry. Kolb, D A 1984, Experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development, New York: Prentice-Hall. Lloyd, M A, Dunn, D S & Hammer, E Y 2009, Psychology Applied to Modern Life: Adjustment in the 21st Century, 9th edn., USA: Cengage Learning. Slippery Rock University, 2013, Diversity and Inclusion – Power of Diversity, available at [accessed on: 28 June 2013] Read More