Programme

The 2-day workshop, scheduled for 4 – 5 June 2023, in Kigali, Rwanda, aims to give new GYA members space to reflect together on how to be leaders in diverse contexts: in their research contexts, in the institutions and communities where they live and work, and in the GYA. The workshop will cover topics like effective and creative problem solving, collective leadership tools, personality differences and preferences in teams and cultural dexterity. It will give new GYA members confidence as they begin their tenure with the GYA and attend their first Annual General Meeting.

Expected outcomes of the workshop

• Participants learn and practice specific collaborative tools (for reframing problems, idea generation and development, productive evaluation, etc.).
• Raised awareness about inclusive communication and active listening.
• New Members develop confidence to inject themselves productively into the meetings and to optimize their engagement and contribution to the GYA, at the AGM and throughout their tenure in the GYA.

Background 

The GYA helps young scientists develop competency in how they talk about their science, conduct discourse across disciplines, develop networks and engage the public with science. These soft skills, however, aren’t necessarily part of a research career. 

To address this gap, GYA members worked together with Inclusive Innovation to build the Africa Science Leadership Program (ASLP) in 2015. The programme aims to help early-career researchers in Africa engage more effectively across disciplines, and up and down the hierarchy of their universities and academies. Since the start of the Africa SLP, the ASEAN SLP, a new LAC-SLP and numerous spin-off science leadership workshops have been organised by GYA members.

The 2-day new member Science Leadership Workshop gives the newest cohort of GYA members a chance to build rapport prior to the meeting, and also exposes them to tools that enable them to optimize their experience with other GYA members at the AGM and beyond. This helps the GYA to create an even more collaborative culture within the GYA, and a next generation of scientists who approach problems and leadership creatively and collaboratively.

Find out more about the GYA and Science Leadership for early-career researchers in these testimonies from ECRs and facilitators here: Find out more about Science Leadership for early-career researchers – YouTube

Approach & Methodology 

This collaborative skill building workshop is designed and facilitated by Inclusive Innovation, which has been partnering with the Africa SLP and with the GYA and other regional SLPs since 2015. The facilitation team approaches every meeting or workshop as an opportunity to solve problems, using activities that invite participants to explore a challenge and define it, collectively, before jumping to premature conclusions. In almost every case, the workshop or meeting is designed to create or reinforce a shared understanding of the topic at hand and to inspire higher commitment to taking action as a result of having participated in the event. 

The methods include elements from a number of creative processes. At the core is Creative Problem Solving (CPS); the oldest and most researched deliberate creativity methodology, which is flexible, and resilient, in a wide range of situations. It offers a non-prescriptive approach to problem solving. Inclusive Innovation also employs the tools and techniques of Design Thinking and Appreciative Inquiry.