From May 27 to 29, 2022, the annual field training session for international students “Meeting of Leaders” was held at the Lesnoe Ozero Resort, organized by the International Students and Faculty Department with the participation of the Department of Psychology and Human Resources Development.
37 international students from Greece, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Italy, Moldova, Mongolia, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Nigeria, Moldova, Belarus, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan took part in the event.
The International Students and Faculty Department together with leaders developed a plan to implement important adaptation projects, such as: buddy-program UniFriend, the big three events of the International Students and Faculty Department (Potalkuem, The Russian Way, Master of the Craft). A new project for students was launched as well – “Knowledge Exchange”, where FinU students and faculty will be able to exchange knowledge, skills and abilities.
Especially for this event, Elena Pryazhnikova, Doctor of Psychological Sciences, Professor of the Department of Psychology and Human Resources Development, worked out a program “Talented Leader” to provide international students with the knowledge and skills necessary for a future leader working in the financial and economic sphere.
During this program, international students got to know practical material related to the development of leadership qualities and competencies.
The training session started with the warming-up game “Brain-Ring for the Leader”. Students competed in answering questions from different areas:
History of the FinU
World of literature
Planet Earth
Student Life
World of Music
Transport History
World of Delicious Food
This game helped to demonstrate communication skills, activity, empathy and concern for the final result of their teams. And, of course, international students learnt more about the rich history of Russia and about the FinU development and formation.
During the business game “Professional Leadership Competencies”, students determined their leadership qualities with the test study which identified the results grouped into:
Communication skills
Concern for people
Use of power
Decision making
Motivation of others
This test revealed the aspects of leadership which potentially need working at.
Also, during the business game, students, working in small groups, considered 7 main blocks of skills needed by a leader in a real situation:
Optimization of the human resources management
Team building
Problem analysis and decision-making
Exchange of information with colleagues and administration
Maintaining group and performance discipline
Teamwork motivation
Good time management
After teamwork in small groups students concluded that a modern leader in a situation of professional activity should not only be a specialist, but also have management and teamwork knowledge and skills for high personal and group results.
The final part of the program “Talented Leader” included a workshop “Psychological Secrets of a Leader”, where students were able to learn:
how to effectively influence other people in achieving their goals: set tasks, control the process of completing task properly
how to inspire and motivate other people
how to analyze their own leadership style considering its effectiveness, to realize and avoid the unconscious use of stereotypical management and ineffective behaviors in conflict situations.
At the certificate awarding ceremony, students expressed gratitude for the event organization and noted that they managed to develop new leadership skills, find new friends, as well as relax, take a walk in nature and get a good night’s sleep, which will positively affect the results of the summer session.
The International Students and Faculty Department thanks all the participants for their active work and wishes them a successful session!
