The Leadership Development Programme, a collaboration between the Gifted Education (GE) Branch, Ministry of Education and Lee Kong Chian School of Business, Singapore Management University (SMU) was launched in September 2003. Under the structured programme, 60 pupils from the selected IP schools will work with SMU instructors and undergraduates team advisors to develop and implement service-learning projects to meet the needs of the clients under the care of various community service agencies.
The LDP year is from October to April the following year. The LDP comprises a 1-day programme launch and orientation to services offered by agencies, a 4-month mentorship period consisting of workshops conducted by SMU adjunct associate professors as well as attachment to service agencies, and a 1-day Symposium featuring the projects completed by LDP participants.
The goal of the LDP is to provide pupils with avenues to learn the skills, attitudes and concepts necessary to become enterprising leaders. Pupils are then challenged to look out for opportunities where they can use their gifts and talents to serve society while practising their newly-acquired knowledge and skills in leadership and teambuilding.
The LDP aims to foster a relationship between the team advisors, team members and the service agencies. Each participating team, comprising 6 pupils from a mixture of schools, will receive guidance from their team advisor under the direction and supervision of the SMU adjunct associate professors in the conceptualization, planning and implementation of their projects.
The LDP application process is through a personal statement, teacher recommendation and nomination by the Head of Department of the applicant’s school. The application period is usually in the beginning of September each year.
The aim of the LDP is to provide aspiring student leaders with the opportunity to acquire and apply leadership and teambuilding skills in authentic settings.
To enable participants to develop their capacity for servant-leadership and
enterprise by giving them opportunities to:
- increase their understanding that personal awareness and mastery,
values and initiative constitute the foundation of servant-leadership;
- appreciate the diverse working styles and personalities of others;
- initiate, plan and implement innovative projects to address
identified areas of need in their community.
The Programme is jointly organised by the Lee Kong Chian School of Business, Singapore Management University (SMU) and the Gifted Education Branch, Ministry of Education, with the support of Community Services Agencies.
The programme comprises 3 stages:
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1-day Orientation to Community Services and 3-day visit to selected service agencies in October/November
Participants will be given an overview of the array of services offered by agencies.
Participants will then visit selected service agencies to find out their services
and needs in greater detail.
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Leadership & Teambuilding Workshop cum Mentorship
(Jan to end Apr 06)
Participants attend workshops on Leadership and Teambuilding at SMU.
They are given an opportunity to practise leadership and teambuilding
skills through working with their team mates and mentors on their choice
of community service projects for a period of 4 months from January to April
the following year. Mentors and participants meet to discuss or implement
their projects over about 15 sessions. At the end of the mentorship period,
participants submit documentation of their projects to a panel of judges for
evaluation at a non-competitive Final Presentation where a number of projects
representing a range of community work done are selected for sharing at the
Symposium.
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Symposium
This takes the form of a Stage Presentation and an Exhibition.
Participants showcase their community service projects to an audience
comprising their peers, staff members from the Lee Kong Chian School of
Business, SMU, service agencies and invited guests from other
organisations. The Symposium is held in April at the end of the
mentorship period. A selection from the spectrum of projects will be
shared on stage. All groups will present their projects at the
Exhibition.
Secondary 3 pupils in IP schools
