Unpredictability and technological advancement are changing the landscape of work. Antwerp Management School is preparing its students for these challenges with innovative programs like the Global Leadership Course. Professor Ans De Vos sheds light on how the course aligns with the evolving demands of the modern workplace.
Traditional career paths are difficult to follow in today’s fast-paced world. At Antwerp Management School (AMS), innovative programs like the Global Leadership course are preparing students to face this challenge.
Dr. Ans De Vos, Professor of Sustainable Careers at AMS, points out that changes are paramount and this obscures the functional skills students need to develop to be employable.
“But the less that becomes clear at the same time the more it also becomes clear that everyone, whether you go for a leadership position or for a more operational job, that everyone will need some critical transversal skills. Soft skills that have to do with the capacity to collaborate with others, to make sense of complexity and deal with ambiguity, to be able to make decisions, and to have a critical mindset,” she says. (01:09)
Future leaders must recognize their global context to navigate and lead effectively. They also need the ability to thrive and collaborate within a diverse environment. AMS places a significant emphasis on preparing students for these soft skills, essential for success in any career.
This comprehensive approach to leadership is integral to the long-standing mission of Antwerp Management School, which aims to cultivate leaders who are skilled in their fields and capable of making a positive impact on a global scale.
The Global Leadership course is available to all master’s students in addition to their regular degree and prepares them to be leaders with the skills to impact the world. Throughout the course, students are encouraged to reflect on their personal development and develop the competencies to excel in a complex, globalized world.
One of the core elements of the Global Leadership course is its focus on experiential learning to spur the students’ development. As Professor De Vos explains it, “We really want them to live the experience through the assignments that we give them.” (06:29)
And all assignments relate to the core values of AMS. “Departing from this triangle of self-awareness, global perspective, and societal consciousness, we have developed indeed a set of competencies that we expect students to develop,” says Professor De Vos. (04:32)
In the domain of self-awareness, students are pushed to “really dig under the surface to understand where they come from, who they are today, and how they look at their future considering what they have already been through.” (07:46)
At the beginning of the academic year, students receive frameworks to enhance their self-awareness and interpersonal understanding. This process includes reaching out to friends and family for “360-degree feedback,” which helps students identify their strengths and areas for development. This foundational awareness is further enhanced during a residential seminal, where program cohorts reflect on their personal and professional growth.
For the global and societal perspectives, the students’ network opens up to connect with other programs in the Action Learning Project. For this, students work in diverse, cross-program groups to tackle real-world sustainability challenges. They develop projects related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in collaboration with external stakeholders.
“This Action Learning Project actually becomes a central learning space to understand more in practice about how to collaborate in a diverse team with different perspectives. And also in a setting that is not always easy because students have to find a common agenda.” (08:37)
While the project is a challenge, the outcomes are worth the effort. Through these projects, students gain practical experience in sustainability by leading collaborative efforts and achieving impactful outcomes.
The effectiveness of the Global Leadership course can be measured not only by the students’ personal journeys but also by the real-world impact they make.
Initially, students presented their Action Learning Projects to the faculty, but this format didn’t fully capture the extent of their work.
“It was a bit of a disconnect between our aim to really have them live this experience and then being in a classroom presenting it like a traditional paper presentation for any other course,” Professor De Vos says. (12:27)
What was once a simple presentation has evolved into a fair, with students, faculty, and stakeholders coming together to celebrate their work. The student teams also compete for prizes for innovation, engagement, impact, and the most inspiring project.
By involving a wider audience, AMS highlights the achievements of its students and facilitates ongoing partnerships within the local community.
Professor De Vos notes that several projects have put something in motion that continues even after completion. For instance, one project developed material to teach elementary students about the SDGs that are still in use. (11:52)
Through innovative programs like the Global Leadership course, Antwerp Management School is preparing its students for the future and equipping them with the skills to shape it.
Visit the AMS profile page and contact a student ambassador for first-hand accounts of the Global Leadership course.
