With age comes experience, but for Swinburne University of Technology Psychological Science student, Fiona Mikic, a two-week international leadership placement in India supported by the New Colombo Plan (NCP), has eclipsed anything she has experienced in life so far.
The NCP project, open to high-achieving Swinburne students, is an intensive engagement with industry and businesses in India, providing insights into leadership styles and the notion of what it means to be a global citizen.
Fiona is employed full-time in the banking sector, having worked her way up in the company to become a team leader. She has been studying part-time since 2017 on a demanding schedule that combines work, family, and study.
Now in her fifties, she says being selected for the NCP project was one of the proudest moments of her life.
“I have been working so hard to maintain good grades and never really expected to receive external acknowledgement for my hard work,” Fiona says.
“But beyond that, I could never have imagined just how transformative my time in India would be.
“Many months on from the trip, I think about it every day, and reflect on what it taught me, about myself, leadership, culture, and my place in the world.
“I returned with a deeper understanding of negotiation, teamwork, goal setting and with greater confidence in my ability to work through solutions and to develop a human-focused leadership style.”
Fiona was one of 16 participants in the project, which included time in Mumbai, New Delhi, and Agra.
A veteran of six student tours, tour lead and manager of Swinburne's Work Integrated Learning programs, Dr Nicola Fish says the study tours are both challenging and transformative.
“There really is no replacement for immersive learning in another culture,” Dr Fish says.
“You can read and watch documentaries but when you are on the ground in another country engaging face to face with people, taking in everything at an experiential level, that is when you learn. It is a kind of learning to unlearn by challenging unconscious biases and preconceived ideas and stereotypes in sociocultural, economic, and global contexts.
“These study tours are unique in that they present multilayered challenges – the students themselves are not a homogenous group – they come from all over Australia and are studying by different modes from on-campus to solely online, diverse discipline backgrounds from psychology, engineering, and health sciences, to teaching, film and television, and law.
“The students roomed together over the visit and as a larger group, met to discuss, debate, and reflect on what they saw, who they met and the businesses and communities they spent time with. Learning was applied to their field, their professional development and more broadly around who they were as leaders and global citizens.
“The students worked in interdisciplinary teams to research and present an aspect of India with a specific focus from their discipline. These group presentations were delivered prior to departure to support connections within the study tour group and in preparation for the cultural, historical, and geographic aspects of the destination being visited.”
Other assessment and engagement required students to extend their learning by seeking new experiences through guided activities that encouraged exploration and learning to be comfortable with the uncomfortable and unexpected.
This formed part of their reflections and were documented in a variety of creative ways - audio, visual and written. The final assessment required students to critically reflect on learning and how this informed them as future global leaders, citizens, and professionals in their field.
Led by Authentica, a global experiences company specialising in the Asian region, the program introduces students to a range of companies from small NGOs to businesses with international reach.
In New Delhi, students met with the founder of Goonj, a recycling enterprise that started with the simple donation of 67 pieces of clothing.
“This organisation started out with a simple giving gesture and has now grown into a social enterprise immersed in community,” Fiona says.
“I learnt from the founder of Goonj that the concept of giving in a charitable sense hurts people's dignity, what people really value is the connection of empathy, respect, and dignity. Goonj uses these principles to guide their decision-making and actions.
“Goonj has emerged as a connected business that supports community to develop the infrastructure and innovations they need – from water supply and community infrastructure to education and women's health – by empowering and partnering with them.
“To learn first-hand from the founder of Goonj was a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
Since returning from India, Fiona has become a community ambassador for her employer and is actively engaged with Swinburne's careers group, which connects students with opportunities for social cause leadership and engagement.
“The international study tour provided face to face opportunities to learn about global leadership, strengthened my appreciation of culturally diverse workplaces, highlighted what it means to be a global citizen, and inspired my passion for social cause organisations,” Fiona says.
“I feel so privileged to have had this opportunity. Speaking from the heart, it has been an invaluable, life-changing experience.”
