There were inspired faces all round as Introduction to Leadership students took a trip to the Bodleian Library for a tour of the magnificent buildings and impressively vast collection of books. The Bodleian is one of six copyright libraries in the UK, meaning that it receives a copy of every book published in the country―this makes for a collection spanning over 120 miles of bookshelves!
In Introduction to Leadership, students learn about how to use their leadership skills to create positive and lasting impact in the world. A huge part of this project is understanding the processes in play in global relations and governance. So then, students learned on their tour about the proud history of Politics and International Relations at the University of Oxford―the discipline has been taught in Oxford for over 100 years, and continues to be a leading voice in developing theoretical frameworks for the study of Politics and IR, and producing groundbreaking research on issues of global import.
Over in Introduction to Enterprise, students were focusing on teamwork and leadership: taking Richard Branson’s leadership style as a case study, students considered effective ways of developing and maintaining team buy-in and cohesion, and how to make smart entrepreneurial decisions when the route is anything but obvious. Two top tips from Sir Branson himself are to “avoid making decisions in isolation”, and “do everything you can to protect the downside”. These directions are sure to come in useful as students develop their own business projects next week!
Students enjoyed free time in Oxford in the afternoon, taking advantage of all that Broad Street has to offer―which is a lot, students found, as they wandered through the magnificent quadrangles of Balliol College (another ORA campus), and sampled the delights on offer at the Fudge Kitchen. Back in St Hugh’s in the evening, students were treated to a stage combat workshop and a board game session; students also got creative with a spot of flower arranging, using the blooms that they had picked up in the Covered Market in town earlier in the day.