Fifteen Emirati university students have successfully concluded their participation in Sharjah for Capability Development (SCD)’s ‘Knowledge Bridges’ programme, whose second edition was recently held in UK’s capital London.

SCD, a subsidiary of the Rubu’ Qarn Foundation for Creating Future Leaders and Innovators, aimed through this programme, whose first edition was launched in 2017, to train a promising generation of qualified national leaders, as well as develop and hone their skills by sending them abroad and exposing them to new experiences.

The programme aims to develop the potential of participating students by offering them transfer programmes at the world’s most respected and prestigious educational institutions and exposing them to the best international experiences that they can apply in the realisation of the goals of sustainable development, good health and wellbeing, good education, climate action, clean water and hygiene, all of which are important national priorities.

The 15 outstanding students, aged 19 to 24, were selected from the emirate’s universities, including from Sharjah University, American University of Sharjah, Higher Colleges of Technology in Sharjah and Sharjah Youth Centres. They were selected based upon their leadership qualities, enthusiasm, and initiative and communication skills.

On the first leg of their journey, students visited the famous Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, the British Army officer training college, where they stayed for five days. The students learned about behaviours that must be embraced by team members, and the importance of constructive interaction, contributing to the development of the team’s ability to make the desired positive impact.  The importance of flexibility and adaptability among team members in dealing with challenges was also highlighted.

Reem Muhammad Al Mutawa’, an Electric Engineering student at AUS described the experience as invaluable: “It was a truly exceptional time at Sandhurst where I gained insights into the theory of military leadership and its application in civilian life, the spirit of teamwork and competition, motivation, discipline and the importance of working with each other as one team.”

The participants listened to a presentation by Simon Gordon Lennox, who highlighted the basic leadership qualities, while Stephen Bennett, CEO of IDG spoke about the distinguished characteristics of leaders, unique requirements for leadership, and the most important leaders and personalities who graduated from the college.

The students also attended a session that dealt with the effectiveness of a balanced team and its ability to achieve the desired results. The participants used the ‘Team Roles’ approach by British researcher Raymond Meredith Belbin with a view to developing appropriate strategies, allocation of responsibilities, implementation of plans, and evaluating results. This method has contributed to enhancing the learning process among participants, developing their abilities, and providing them with the knowledge and skills needed to participate in more activities in the future.

The programme’s trainees engaged in a series of outdoor activities that allowed them to learn the practical aspects of leadership, and understand scientific and professional aspects of the leader and explore the latest in leadership, among many others.

Following their five-day stay at Sandhurst, the students put what have they learned into action and conducted self-assessment tests that enabled them to identify their individual choices and their personality types, and the need for team members to understand each other.

The participants also visited seven prestigious institutions in the UK, including UK Youth, a leading national charity, which is committed to providing access to appropriate, high quality services to all community members. The charity is dedicated to empowering young people to build bright futures, regardless of their background or social and economic conditions.

Knowledge Bridges delegates also learned about UK Youth’s key initiatives for building and developing youth capacity and facilitating cultural exchange by activating the roles of youth in local communities.

Muhammad Kashwani, Head of Programme and Event Department at Sharjah Youth, said: “This part of the programme was particularly relevant to me and helped me to develop key skills in my personality, including how to communicate most effectively with others, how to lead a team and how to take the right decision in different – and often – difficult situations. The overall programme was divided into two parts; theoretical and practical and featured workshops, debates, discussions, lectures, panels, exercises and outdoor activities that required us to implement what we have learned in the theoretical lectures and workshops.”

On another leg of their tour, Sharjah’s delegates visited Brunel University’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) Centre where they gained insights into approaches to inspire youth of all ages to learn science and technology.

The Knowledge Bridges participants then visited the Future Cities Catapult, an urban innovation centre designed to make cities better and increase the overall well-being experience. They incubate and provide expertise for ideas that are aimed at urban innovation by turning ideas into prototypes that can be tested in real urban settings. During their visit to the centre, the students gained insights into the latest ideas and technologies that are being used to promote better urban experiences.

On other stops, the delegates met with the work team at the Impact Hub, the world’s largest network focused on building entrepreneurial communities for impact at scale. Knowledge Bridges participants got the chance to learn about the Hub’s strategies for evaluating ideas, assessing social impact, as well as some of their unique social enterprises.

They then stopped at the Houses of Parliament where they were given a guided tour of the Commons Chamber and the Lords Chamber to learn about how the parliament functions, a particular interest of Muhammad Khaled Hamad Al Midfa, who specialises in Political and Economic International Relations: “The different parts of the programme and its specialist fields all had a common factor in bringing a positive message to help us understand and implement leadership. Throughout the programme, I felt as though I was constantly improving my skills in working with others.”

The students were introduced to the creative entrepreneurial ideas offered by the Entrepreneurship Institute at King’s College London, which is dedicated to supporting entrepreneurial thinking, skills and experiences amongst King’s College’s students, staff and alumni. They also learned about innovative business ideas and how the institute supports their incubation.

The students wrapped up their tour by visiting Cambridge University, Pembroke College and the Judge Business School. The participants attended a session on postgraduate studies, and met with postdoctoral researchers at Cambridge, where they learned about the city and its rich contributions and innovations in the past and present in a number of fields. Some of the most celebrated alumni of the University of Cambridge include physicist Steven Hawking, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, and physicist and mathematician Sir Isaac Newton, who all proved an inspiration to those attending the Knowledge Bridges programme.

Among them, Reem Obaid Al Mazrouie, a Renewable Energy Engineering student at the American University in Sharjah (AUS), said: “Taking part in the programme has been the perfect opportunity for me to understand the qualities of great leaders and hopefully will contribute to honing my own skills and personality. I feel I can express myself much more fluently and convey my points with greater clarity. The participation also helped me to reconsider some of my previous concepts on what it means to be a leader and opened up new prospects and horizons for me.”

Rawan Al Qadi, a Chemical Engineering student at AUS, added: “One of the many things I learned throughout this programme is how to adapt, how to interact with my peers and how to solve critical thinking problems at a moment’s notice. I learned the importance of leadership, fellowship, unity and loyalty at Sandhurst and came to understand how to read my own and others’ strengths and weaknesses and how to apply them to a particular situation.”

Hamda Al Hajiri, another student at AUS, concluded: “One of the most important aspects of this programme is that it allowed me to rediscover myself and develop my skills through its huge range of activities, sessions, panels and visits.  Those valuable skills such as leadership, communication and enhancing relationships with others are important for my studies, as well as my professional and personal life.”

Established in 2005, Sharjah Tatweer Forum (now Sharjah for Capability Development), is a subsidiary of the Rubu’ Qarn Foundation for Creating Leaders and Innovators. The foundation has more than 800 young members who contribute to achieving its goals through their ideas, visions, suggestions, recommendations, activities, initiatives and voluntary work.