The Women in Leadership (WiL) course at American University of Sharjah (AUS) collaborated on two courses with the Achievement Academy Bridge Program (AABP), with WiL students preparing a range of materials in different media to raise awareness about women in leadership. The class was split into teams and used different creative modes of communication such as posters, infographics, an Instagram page (@bywomen.aus) and videos which were then presented to AABP students in a joint online class recently.

During the presentation, teams talked about women leaders who inspired them and explained the reasoning behind their choices. Other groups interviewed women heads of departments at AUS, asking them about their experiences in the workplace.

Dr. Linzi Kemp, Associate Professor of Management, who teaches the Women in Leadership course said:

“A course project for the Women in Leadership course ensured students applied their leadership and team skills in a real situation. Students of the Academic Achievement Bridge Program became clients of WiL students, who prepared materials about women in leadership in the Arab region. As professor and co-creator of the WiL course, I was impressed by the creativity of these students as they worked together to fulfill the project mandate.”

Zara Khan, a senior in business management in the WiL course, explained how the project helped shed light on the female leaders in the Arab region and the plethora of amazing work they have done.

“Throughout the course, my team and I learned a lot by talking to the female AUS professors and staff as well as female student entrepreneurs and leaders. We learned about the challenges these women faced and how they managed to overcome them. We learned that we should not be afraid of problems or our shortcomings but turn them into our strengths. We also learned that we can achieve anything if we put our mind to it and nothing can stop us."

The Achievement Academy Bridge Program seeks to provide opportunities for students to engage in different learning experiences with the colleges and sample the rich offerings available as part of the AUS community. Speaking about this collaboration, Jessica March, Director, Achievement Academy, said:

“Being part of this project and collaborating with the Women in Leadership students provided our students the opportunity to learn more about key female leaders and their traits, to observe the kind of projects that others are taking part in, and to gain exposure to courses that are available after matriculation from the Achievement Academy.”

Their project materials are available for teaching and training purposes at the virtual Centre for Women and Leadership – MENA at www.wil.insightsme.net