About a year ago, I had the opportunity to lead a group of University Leaders through an experiential learning and partnership-building tour in the U.S. as part of the UPEX program. The trip of part of the longer University Partnerships and Exchange Program where I served in different roles including Advisor, Workshop Facilitator, Experiential Learning Trip Co-lead, and Leadership Coach. The project which was led by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and was funded through the U.S. Department of State Bureau of African Affairs’ University Partnerships Initiative had the objective of establishing and expanding strategic, long-term relationships with Rwandan institutions of higher education and the U.S. Embassy in Rwanda.
The program was designed to expand Rwandan capacity for international partnership management in higher education, university leaders studied learning content that included Internationalization of higher education, Strategic planning and functions of university international partnerships, Stakeholder identification and engagement, Fundraising and grant-writing, Project implementation and management, Designing and maintaining sustainable programs and relationships.
Here are links to read more about the program:
https://globalnebraska.unl.edu/university-partnerships-initiative/rwanda/participants
https://globalnebraska.unl.edu/university-partnerships-initiative/rwanda
Specifically, throughout the 1 year plus duration, I contributed to the capacity building of these higher institution leaders in the following ways:
- Workshop Facilitation: I led fellows through practical sessions in Design Thinking/Human Centered Design to explore problems and opportunities to innovate within their institutions.
- Experiential Learning Coordination: I helped coordinate and debrief learning visits including visits to the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU), the Rwanda Embassy in the U.S., the NAFSA International Educators’ Conference, The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and more.
- Leadership and Action Coaching: I had one-on-one as well as group coaching sessions with fellows to help them think through what they were learning as well as identify and strategize key action points for implementation on a personal and professional level.
- Event Design and Organization: In partnership with UNL and in collaboration with Elizabeth Scutchfield and Dan Gilbert, we designed and executed the first edition of LEXICON (Learning Excellence Innovation Conference) which brought together (and now brings together) learning innovators in academia and in the workplace to exchange and build capacity on how to deliver innovative learning.
- Program Design Support: I contributed to shaping different program components through advising and program component design
In this experience, I was fortunate to have collaborated with many exceptional leaders including Blayne Sharpe who was the UPEX Program Lead, and Elizabeth Scutchfield in leading the program. Working with them was and has been a great experience.
I was grateful to get such gracious testimonials from both of them :
“Demi’s innovative approach ensured that our program was centered on participants’ professional
objectives. He remains a great thought partner and advisor.” Blayne Sharpe, Director of International Recruitment, University of Nebraska-Lincoln [UPEX Project Leader]
“Demi is a visionary leader with the ability to quickly pivot to whatever a client, project, or situation needs to achieve the desired outcome. To any collaboration, he brings a strategic mind, a relational approach, strong skills in mentorship and facilitation, and an uncanny ability to deliver results that exceed expectations.” Elizabeth Scutchfield, Program Strategist
Like a lot of work in capacity building and people development, the results are both short-term and long-term. In the short term, there is knowledge acquired, mindsets shifted, and new tangible collaborations and projects. However, there are also long-term impact and ripple effects of such learning investments. I recently reached out to some of the fellows in the program to check in on how that had progressed during the program. It was gladdening to hear about their upward trajectory including new roles, new projects, and other greater forms of impact they are making. I am certain they will continue to lead the way in the Education system in Rwanda and beyond.
Finally, here’s a link to a testimonial video I collected from participants and from my collaborator, Elizabeth Scutchfield.
This recap mostly highlighted my contributions to the UPEX Program. However, I intend to follow up and share lessons learned in a separate post.
It was a pleasure to have contributed to the UPEX Program and to continually inspire and support the leaders. I look forward to continuing to do work in supporting and equipping leaders and professionals. If you have any questions or would like me to consult on similar or related learning development programs and projects, do send me a message or email: hello@demioluwasina.com. Learn more about how I can support your team or organization at: www.demioluwasina.com
