The summer of 2017 was especially memorable for Maira Nizamuddin, a Year 4 student at the School of Nursing and Midwifery (SONAM). Maira spent part of her break in Moscow as the youngest delegate to the highly sought-after international programme, the Preparing Global Leaders Summit 2017 (PGLS).
The PGLS is a weeklong series of courses, workshops and simulation-based activities aimed at honing the leadership potential of youth who are committed to advancing the global public good. Over 1,000 can
One of the highlights of Maira's trip was a cruise along one of Moscow's rivers.
didates from around the world applied for the weeklong programme and Maira was one of just 60 delegates selected.
Based on the quality of her application, Maira received a sponsorship from PGLS, as well as financial support from SONAM to attend the event. In this interview with e-News, Maira shares her experiences of her trip to Russia and opens up about her plans for her final year at SONAM.
Q. What was the summit like?
The summit was a wonderful opportunity to meet people from all around the world. My colleagues came from a wide variety of professional backgrounds such as journalism, engineering and medicine, and many of them held master’s degrees or were pursuing PhDs.
Knowledge and empathy are key characteristics of good leadership and interacting with them helped me see issues from different perspectives. They were eager to learn about Pakistan and had many questions about the nursing profession too. It was great to inform my colleagues about the difference nurses make to society.
I made friends from South Africa, Iraq, the United States and India at the event and I intend to stay in touch with them so that I can deepen my knowledge of global issues.
Q. How did you find the courses at the event?
We were taught by professors from top universities such as Georgetown and Oxford. We covered a variety of courses that were focused on leadership such as the psychology of global leadership, negotiation, strategic thinking, technology and governance, and public policy. Some of the topics such as the challenge posed by fake news and the role of a responsible media were very relevant to current events.
I was most interested in the Influence, Persuasion and Public Speaking course as I’ve been actively involved in the Public Speaking Society at SONAM. I remember a session on extempore speaking where we were required to deliver a speech on unfamiliar topics on the spot! The exercise forced us to think quickly and showed us how to adapt to different situations. Overall, the course really helped me improve my interpersonal skills which are vital for bringing people together to drive change in society.
Q. What was your favourite session at the summit?
I really enjoyed the How to Rock Your Interview session where we learned the key features of good interviews and the elements of good communication. It was a really vibrant session where we were required to take on different roles. We had to answer questions that were similar to those posed to statesmen like former US President Barack Obama. The activity showed us the importance of diplomacy and clarity and introduced us to situations that global leaders have to tackle.
Q. What was the best part of your trip?
I really enjoyed visiting Moscow’s many landmarks. I managed to see the Kremlin, Red Square, Lenin’s Tomb and Saint Basil’s Cathedral. Moscow is a very lively city and I loved exploring its sights and sounds with colleagues at the event.
The highlight of my trip was a cruise down one of Moscow’s rivers that had some incredible views. There were memorable cultural experiences too as I saw a traditional Russian dance and watched ballets of famous plays like Romeo and Juliet.
Q. How did your time at SONAM help you at the summit?
SONAM has students from Central Asia, the Middle East and the subcontinent. I’m used to working with people from different backgrounds and cultures and this helped me work in teams at the summit. Many of the topics I studied in the leadership course at SONAM were covered at the summit and so I was able to relate my experience as a nurse to the issues discussed during sessions.
Faculty often speak to us about the importance of taking initiative and of nurses advocating for patients and I noticed similar ideas mentioned throughout the summit.
Q. How do you plan on using the knowledge you gained at the PGLS in your final year at SONAM?
I feel it’s a duty to share knowledge with others and I’m keen on passing on what I’ve learnt to my classmates. I currently serve as class representative of SONAM's Public Speaking society. I plan on getting more students interested in the art of public speaking and to share tips that I picked up at PGLS with them.
I’ve always been interested in writing and research and I’ve been contributing articles to online journals since my first year. I’m currently doing a literature review for a research project on breastfeeding. I hope to get other students involved in research by founding a society at the University to encourage undergraduates get involved in such projects.
I’m also involved with the Critical Creative Innovative Thinking forum and the Society for Promoting Innovation and Education on campus and I look forward to contributing more to these initiatives.