Howdy!
Today was the penultimate day of classes here at the University of Edinburgh, and that can only mean one thing – preparing for presentations! But before that happened, we had a brief chat with Dr. Nic about the distinctions between strength, force, and power. It all tied into what we had been learning in class, regarding how to be the best leader possible. On the topic of leadership, everything we have learned in class up to this point regards leading for a sustainable future, and this project is the culmination of our learning. We are using what we learned to propose a way to make a difference in our community, and the overarching methods of initiating change are through a social enterprise, social action, or intrapreneurship.
This morning, each group gave an elevator pitch of their project, outlining which of the three methods of change they would use, and providing a rough idea of the steps they would take to accomplish it. The creativity within the group is impressive, with teams proposing anything from advocating for policy change all the way to donut shops to accomplish their mission.
For lunch, everyone tried out some fantastic food spots throughout Edinburgh, from a Scottish Subway to a huge food festival with every cuisine imaginable.
Following the morning elevator pitches, it was crunch time. Each group prepared a roughly 20-minute presentation in a matter of 3.5 hours. During the time crunch, we had some teams play music for everyone while we worked and enjoyed the process! Everyone was able to finish in time to do a practice presentation with Ms. Hermiston, where she gave valuable feedback regarding making our presentations more concise and coherent. After adapting the powerpoint based on her recommendations, we had a few hours remaining to enjoy the day, which meant different things for different people.
After class, we split up and tried tons of different things. Some of us bonded by playing ultimate frisbee at the local park, some took a trip to Baskin Robbins, some tried a Scotland-exclusive flavor of iced tea at Starbucks, and we all had dinner together at the dining hall.
Some students also decided to climb Arthur’s peak again, enjoying the phenomenal views of Edinburgh. Another group made a trip to Victoria Street, a beautiful area that inspired Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter series.
