At Key2Advance, we are developing the Next Generation Leadership Academy to respond to the needs of tomorrow’s leaders in a fast-changing global environment.
For over a decade, we have been guiding leaders, ranging from senior professionals in corporations to diplomats and recent graduates. During this experience, our team observed how established leaders face challenges with organisational change, global developments, and megatrends. At the same time, more junior leaders are motivated to make a difference but often lack the skills to navigate teams and change successfully. This is why we are creating a programme to connect and empower the leaders of tomorrow to positively transform their lives and organisations with a lasting global impact.
We believe PREMIUM students are future leaders and we wish to include them in our reflection on the future of leadership. We would like to benefit from the support and creative input of PREMIUM students to conduct research on leadership, that will serve as the backbone of the Next Generation Leadership Academy.
Students involved in our project will receive essential guidance from our team members, be provided with exciting networking opportunities, and have the possibility to participate in the Next Generation Leadership Academy free of charge.
key2advance is a professional coaching and training consultancy founded in 2007, offering services and guidance for clients to pause, reflect, plan, and execute. Our mission is to design constructive environments that ignite self-transformation, boost careers, forge dynamic teams, create impact and strengthen resilience. Our workshops and coaching sessions are rooted in scientific approaches combined with contemporary techniques to create engaging and enriching sessions that are tailor-made to suit our clients’ needs. Our portfolio is designed around five key themes: self, team, impact, career and resilience. As our latest project, we are developing the Next Generation Leadership Academy to respond to the needs of tomorrow’s leaders in a fast-changing global environment.
Stage 3: Align means and ends
At the Maastricht Sustainability Institute, teaching and learning in the master takes place in a ‘flipped classroom’ format. Small groups of 5 to 6 students first work independently on learning objectives, and subsequently report back in a plenary meeting with around 20 students. This puts a strong emphasis on the self-directed and collaborative aspects of learning. To prepare for this, at the beginning of the programme, students do an exercise in group work. They also draw up a Team Charter that describes how they will collaborate.
Stage 5: How are we doing?
This activity aims to get students to reflect on their experiences with PBL, especially those that have been less positive, thinking first about what caused the disappointment, then possible solutions. The activity involves a 10-15-minute individual reflection activity, followed by some 30 minutes of small group discussion of causes and solutions to problems. The tutor’s role (not described in the exercise) is to monitor the discussion and ensure suggestions are collected in a useable form.
Stage 4: Keeping up the spirit
At the MSc Learning and Development in Organisations, learning is based on the principles of constructive, contextual, collaborative and self-directed learning. The constructive and collaborative aspects of learning in particular, are seen as very similar to learning and working in a professional context. In the coaching that is an integral part of this programme, reflection on what is learned and how it is learned become two sides of the same coin. Goal setting and self-evaluation by students concerns the development of competencies and the way in which these are acquired through learning.
Stage 2: Mind the gap to previous experiences
We used a flipped format to deliver PBL information during Introduction days. We set up a canvas course dedicated to Introduction days were students could find all sort of information, including websites, contact information and student manuals related to their selected study programme. Within this canvas site, we added an Introduction days schedule with embedded welcome videos and/or documents. In the week prior to Introduction Days, participants received an email (via Canvas announcements) asking them to go over the event’s schedule on Canvas and watch a ~40 min video with a detailed explanation on how PBL works. During Introduction days the panel was organized as follows:
— Panel chair briefly summarized the main concepts related to PBL
— The tutors/coordinators and current students panelists introduced themselves and shared (informally) their thoughts and experience with PBL
— The chair opened the room for questions from new students
Unlike previous years that used a simple PBL presentation (passive listening), the flipped approach allowed us to provide the factual information before hand and opt for a more active PBM meeting for optimal engagement of participants during the event. Participants asked many questions, often building up from answers provided by the panel. Having a diverse panel answering questions was an added bonus, as the participants quickly realized that different coordinators/tutors might approach PBL differently, depending on the content and focus of the course. The current student perspective was very valuable as they provided examples of how they prepare for PBL and act as chairs or scribes. In Period 2 we asked the new students to provide feedback about Introduction Days and they commented quite favorably about the active PBL panel.
Stage 1: Mapping Teaching & Learning Styles
This activity is designed to get students to compare their expectations of teacher and student roles, with the hope of revealing underlying cultural perceptions so that all are aware of them and they can be addressed. When grouping the students, try to select diverse nationality groups. Time stage A so that students discuss their (national) cultural expectations before learning in detail about PBL. Carry out stage B after they have received some input about what PBL is.
