On the 29th October 2020, BINUS UNIVERSITY students participated alongside 1,000 of their peers in the Common Purpose Leadership Forum for 3-hour networking and discussion forum online focusing on the topic of initiating real change on the issues that matter the most in today’s world. This included the pressing subjects of climate change and sustainability as well as graduate skills in the 21st century and the future world of work among various others. Students had the chance to hear directly from young professionals on the biggest issues of today and to reflect on how these issues will shape their leadership journey in the future.

The forum began with a keynote speech from Sashi Cheliah, Winner of Australian Masterchef on his role as a young leader and the importance of the next generation of young leaders today. This was followed by a leadership masterclass and sharing of insights from the forum’s varied panel of speakers which included Eugene Ho; Head of Corporate Affairs at SAP, Rana Flowers; Head of UNICEF, Ed Kitchen; Head of New Business Verticals at Uber Eats and Phoebe Jones; Senior Consultant Climate Change and Sustainability at Ernst and Young among others.  The discussion covered a variety of topics including child rights and protections, hackathons and innovations, disruption and innovation in the fourth industrial revolution as well as driving cross-sector partnership from a leadership perspective. The event was rounded off by a closing keynote speech by Syed Saddiq, Malaysia’s former Minister of Youth and Sports in which he reflected on his personal journey of becoming Asia’s youngest ever Member of Parliament at the age of 25.

BINUS UNIVERSITY students were joined by their peers from across the region including those from Bangkok University, Macquarie University, The University of Hong Kong, University of Wollongong, and Murdoch University among many other participating institutions. At the closing of the program, students also had the chance to network with fellow participants through reflection sessions in order to share what each of them had found valuable during the session.

Students were also invited to write a 250-word reflective essay on their learning experience and how they plan to progress in their leadership journey in order to earn a micro-credential to display on their digital profiles. One such student from BINUS UNIVERSITY, Ali Abdilahi shared that they had learned that “the most important thing you need to do to be able to solve a problem in your community is to find a problem you are passionate about because trying to cause permanent change is a long a harsh road and the only way get through it is to do something you are interested in and passionate about”. Another BINUS student Wais Ibrahim noted that from they opening keynote speaker he gleaned that “everyone is skilled in diverse areas and that no one is forced to seclude their abilities on just one activity. Rather, everyone is capable of excelling in a multitude of their own passion”.

These events in combination with BINUS UNIVERSITY’s approach to encouraging leadership skills, entrepreneurship, and independent thinking provide students with the necessary tools and confidence to follow their ambitions in the private and public sphere and make a real change in their organization, sector, and community.

Read more on our students’ point of view on the event recap and takeaways on our online magazine, Hiveindo.