Dancing in Aberdeen

Today we got back into the swing of our sessions with Aberdeen. The topic was really unique -- international leadership development through training and professional development. They shared how the university has set in place a series of accredited training programs to help their faculty and staff learn how to improve their management style and move up within the ranks. The institution seems to have a real emphasis on promoting from within and retaining employees. They do a lot here at the institution, such as leadership training, coaching, mentoring, etc. But they also host an international leadership program, similar to our Fulbright experience. For example, soon they will send a team to the east coast of the US to visit Harvard and other universities so they can learn more about student development and improving the student experience. In the past they have had European trips to schools like Utrecht. 

We also had a nice campus tour with a great (and funny) tour guide. I still can't believe the university was founded in 1495!

I need to hang this up in my office :-)

We had a dinner in the Great Hall here on campus. Afterward they invited in the student dance group and a Ceilidh band called Danse Macabre http://www.danse-mccabre.co.uk/index.html 

It was a load of fun but LOTS of work. We were so sweaty afterwards. And we had a great laugh at ourselves. 

On a non-Fulbright note, one of my colleagues here helped me explore a potential dissertation topic over lunch. I am pretty excited about it. Since today is actually the first day of classes back at Ball State, this was perfectly timed. This semester I will be crafting my research proposal and writing for my comprehensive exams. Most of the folks on this program have already completed a Ph.D. or Ed.D. so I try to collect words of wisdom whenever I can. Even during my university visits I try to keep an eye out for inspiration. 

One of the key things I took away was from Imperial College (our shortest stop). There I learned it is critical you have the ability to describe your research area to a non-academic in a simple "elevator speech". That seems fairly straightforward, but it was really groundbreaking. The topics I'd considered before were interesting to me and helpful to the field, but every time I tried to explain it to someone...the lady next to me on the airplane, a colleague on this program... I found myself tongue-tied and incomprehensible. But with the new topic I find it simple and expansive at the same time. AND people respond to it. I hope it passes muster with my committee when I return :-)