A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending two amazing leadership training sessions hosted by Dr. Jack Tsao at The University of Hong Kong. I travelled to Leeds to start my summer research not long after, and I was benefitted by the many activities and reflections I carried out during the sessions as an amateur researcher to effectively work in a professional scientific setting for the first time (especially overseas).
At the beginning of the first session, Prof. Tsao made us write about our purpose and motivation for completing the Laidlaw Programme. By asking the right questions, he made me really contemplate about my goals and understand the scale of potential this programme has to drive my personal growth. This tiny but meaningful activity made me realize the grave importance of occasional reflection that can be used to fully utilize opportunities and experiences in life. It has taught me to be more intentional throughout the course of this programme, which is why I have been logging every day of working at the laboratory to reflect on my journey effectively.
Additionally, I had the pleasure of connecting with many inspiring scholars of my cohort at HKU. Under much insightful guidance, we worked on our networking skills and practiced spontaneous team building. The most impactful activity was exploring our dominant communication styles, and having better knowledge of my communication strengths has helped me feel more confident since (which was extremely helpful for settling into my research laboratory and collaborating with other researchers).
During the second session, we used a creative and interactive method of building with legos to disseminate our research to the cohort, which made me reflect profoundly on my topic and its importance while trying to convey it through symbolism. We brainstormed new research methods that can be integrated into our plans, reminding us to think out of the box and never give up our creativity and authenticity. Lastly, we extensively discussed environmental effects of human actions since empathetic perspective and environmental consciousness are essential for future leaders. The lesson resonated more with me after learning about the small measures taken to constantly reduce environmental effect in LIGHT laboratory at University of Leeds (e.g. by recycling lab gloves and reducing power usage in lab equipment).
From this retelling, one can fairly say that the impactful training sessions at HKU made small, yet strong contributions to my character that improved the start of my research experience at Leeds. I cannot wait to see how the skills I have acquired will help me navigate my journey further as I work at the LIGHT laboratory!