ASPIRE TO LEAD?

The purpose of the scholarships is to encourage and develop future leaders in any field of activity. Looking around the world’s business and political leaders I can’t recall a time when better leaders were more urgently needed.

Lord Laidlaw

DO YOU WANT TO JOIN THE NEXT GENERATION OF LEADERS DELIVERING POSITIVE CHANGE AROUND THE WORLD?

As a Laidlaw Scholar, you will receive bespoke leadership training to develop your individual, team and situational leadership skills in order to become a better #NextGen Leader. During your second summer, you will take part in an immersive Leadership-in-Action experience, which will allow you to put your learnt knowledge into practice and drive change where it really matters.

DEVELOP YOUR LEADERSHIP SKILLS

Your Scholarship begins with a multi-day retreat with your fellow scholars. Here, you will improve your self-knowledge and awareness, gain a clear understanding of your values, strengths and areas for growth, learn about leadership styles, improve your social and cultural intelligence, discover how to manage a research project, and much more. Between your first and second Scholarship summers you will benefit from a bespoke programme of leadership development activities that include: experiential learning activities, leadership dinners and forums, group work, community out-reach, building cultural capital, coaching and mentoring.

ON COMPLETION OF THE PROGRAMME YOU WILL HAVE DEVELOPED YOUR:

  • Leadership abilities
  • Self-knowledge and awareness
  • Communication expertise
  • Critical and creative thinking
  • Collaboration and team working
  • Research and project management skills
  • Social and cultural intelligence and awareness
  • Resilience and determination to achieve
  • Global citizenship
  • Moral leadership

BECOME A REAL-WORLD LEADER

Learning about leadership in the peace and quiet of a leafy quad is very different than living it outside of one’s comfort zone: far from home, tired, stressed and wondering if one is up to the challenge. Or, if COVID-19 is still causing chaos, stressed and discombobulated, locked-down and isolated from your friends. The immersive Leadership-in-Action component of the Scholarship takes place over a second immersive period of approximately six weeks. It gives you the opportunity to put into practice what you have learnt in theory about purpose, strategy, planning, execution, communication and influencing skills, team work, resilience and being a global citizen.

You can choose your perfect leadership experience from a number of different options:

  • Leadership expeditions with accredited charities and NGOs who have strong governmental links and a track record of sustainable development. This combines voluntary work designed to create systemic and sustainable change, with bespoke leadership training. You will be joined in your team by Scholars from other Universities and countries.
  • Social enterprise and NGO internships with clearly defined goals and deliverables. You will be responsible for completing a specific project which will develop your leadership expertise, demonstrate each of the Laidlaw leadership attributes and prove to yourself and others your leadership strengths.
  • Continuing your research by recruiting and supervising a support team.
  • Expanding and applying your research in the field in order to create demonstrable, positive change and be a force for good.

Whatever option you choose, you will have the opportunity to work with local communities, driving change where it really matters. Whether it is improving access to water and sanitation facilities, helping break the cycle of poverty through better education, or developing real solutions to some of today’s most intractable problems by applying your research findings; you can be confident that you are giving back to others at the same time as you are developing as a leader.