Universidad Europea celebrates excellence in leadership with leading figures from the Institution: Rosa Sanchidrián, Rector of Universidad Europea de Valencia; Cristiana Oliveira, Rector of Universidad Europea de Canarias; Elia Cambón, Vice-Rector for Students and University Life; and Belén Mariño, Director of International Business Development, took part in the event in which they showed that "leadership is not a magic potion"
The importance of the human factor, interculturality, corporate social responsibility and the ability to adapt, some of the issues put into focus during the round table "Leadership Vision and Inspiration". More than 200 students attended the project promoted by the Vice-Rector's Office for Students and University Life. Sara Torre, director of the Employability and Entrepreneurship Unit, explained at the inauguration that this project aims to create a space where prominent figures can "share the challenges faced by a leader in their daily lives, their experience in creating collaborative environments in their teams and, most importantly, how they can inspire and guide future generations who are training with us".
The first round table of this project was led by leading figures from Universidad Europea, including Rosa Sanchidrián, Rector of Universidad Europea de Valencia; Cristiana Oliveira, Rector of Universidad Europea de Canarias; Elia Cambón, Vice-Rector for Students and University Life; and Belén Mariño, Director of International Business Development. Astrid Montilla, director of Vida Universitaria, moderated the colloquium.
What makes people leaders
The speakers tried to shed light on what makes a person a good leader. Although, as the rector of Universidad Europea de Valencia pointed out, "leadership is not a magic potion. We must be aware that it evolves over time because societies progress and, with them, the concept of leadership". However, during the round table different skills and attitudes that a good leader should have were highlighted, such as the ability to adapt, which, in the words of the Rector of Universidad Europea de Canarias, "allows a leader to be aware of the environment that surrounds him/her and to adapt his/her actions to the different challenges that arise".
The four speakers stressed the importance of having female leadership models to break down gender stereotypes, but placed special emphasis on the fact that "if a person is a leader, they are so regardless of their sexual condition", as Elia Cambón said. Along the same lines, Belén Mariño emphasised: "I have more confidence in the leader as a person. All the values of leadership are independent of sexual condition".
Rosa Sanchidrián reminded the students that "we are going to have a society in the coming years where there is going to be a great struggle for talent" and that leadership "will be interactive because society is much more global and we will be able to work with people from many countries". In this sense, as he stated, the internationality that characterises Universidad Europea "will help to create and promote this interactive leadership profile" where multiculturalism is fundamental. As the Director of International Business Development at Universidad Europea explained, "how this globality is handled, both in groups and in the profession, is something that a leader must have. Empathy, listening and respect are fundamental for working in global and multicultural environments. These characteristics must be innate in today's leader.
The importance of the human factor in leaders is fundamental for the speakers: "To be a good leader is to be a better person and to be surrounded by people who are willing to be generous enough for you to learn from them," said Cristiana Oliveira. Likewise, commitment to the environment is also fundamental in today's leadership: "Today's society has the 2030 Agenda in vogue and leaders must have this agenda in their DNA and be flexible in the face of the changes and challenges that society is presenting", said the Vice-Rector for Students and University Life.
One of the topics of the moment, Artificial Intelligence (AI), also played an important role in the colloquium, because, as Cristiana Oliveira stated, it will play an important role in the leaders of the future because "it helps to make decision-making easier because it allows for more immediate access to data". Rosa Sanchidrián also focused on the irruption of this technology: "We will interact with Artificial Intelligence, which will allow us to have a more humanistic leadership, because thanks to the contribution of AI we will have more time to think".
Universidad Europea announces the creation of a new podcast
At the opening of the event, Sara Torre presented a new initiative that, through conversations with excellent professionals, will explore different approaches to leadership and unravel the stories behind these figures. As the Director of the Employability and Entrepreneurship Unit explained, "these podcasts will not only amplify the voices of our leaders, but will also serve as a continuous source of inspiration for students, because they will form part of the content of School of Life, Universidad Europea skills training platform".