Student activism for skills development (opinion)

As career director, professional and community development, I understand programs for graduate students in order to help them develop skills in areas such as oral and written communication, research, teaching, leadership, networking, well-being and community support. Part of this work is to highlight different ways to be able to exercise these skills.

Although I have a range of examples that I share with students, I only recently thought of protests like having such potential. In this comment, I am talking about the direct and powerful ways that students can apply the skills we teach them at university (application of knowledge, communication, rhetoric, etc.) to pivot challenges in the real world. In particular, I focus on how students reflect what they learn in higher education in activism and plea for change.

I write through the objective of the massive demonstrations led by students in Serbia (my country of origin) in the last three months. The demonstrations were launched by the death of 15 people on November 1, while part of a recently renovated station collapsed. The Serbian government, known for its Authoritarian dominationhas Refused that government corruption and nepotism have led to poor quality construction, while students have, Among other requestsasked those who are responsible justice.

The ongoing peaceful demonstrations model how students can apply the skills and subjects they learn from the academy outside of its walls. Today's Serbian students literally demonstrate what the ancient Greeks have taught us democracy, civic duty and commitment.

Although this play is not explicitly political, it depicts current events in Serbia by highlighting actions that can be taken when democracy is threatened and analyzes how, at the moment critical, academic skills and expertise can support the peaceful revolution. My goal here is not to trigger manifestations of all kinds but to show that student activism, combined with transferable knowledge and skills, is the place where the real power is located – not with those who govern, but with students and educators who are allowed to plead for changes.

Professional development in action

With this objective in mind, I will share certain specific ways of Serbian events have been an incredible opportunity for professional development and the practice of academic and transferable skills.

• Knowledge application: Even if the regular functioning of Serbian universities has been suspended, students put their academic knowledge in practice. This takes many forms: law students emphasizing the holes in the judicial system, education students offering reforms at all levels of education, civil engineers in the training to identify errors that have led to the tragedy of the station and demanding explanations and responsibilities, artists creating a wide range of artistic works on current problems, journalism students who wrote and report Protest, and psychology performing peers support groups for stress times. These are just a few examples of how students have put to work what they studied in their respective colleges and do this work with each other. This is an example of interdisciplinary work to its best, because students from various disciplines collaborate on all these projects.
• Direction: While we tend to see leadership through the objective of an individual, in the case of Serbian demonstrations, there is not a single student leader. Instead, they in turn lead different working groups, projects and initiatives. In this way, they learn from each other and allow everyone to have the opportunity to develop and practice this important skill. This collective approach offers more equitable access to leadership, the one that is less based on personal features which are generally observed among the leaders and draws more from its expertise on a given case. A common objective and the common good serve as motivations and sources of inspiration. I encourage graduate students to reflect on areas and subjects where they could make their contribution alongside others gathered around a common cause.
• Communication: The events are organized through various working groups, such as media groups and communication, logistics, security, etc. Students use their communication skills in several ways and on several levels, for example, in circulation of information between them, by communicating with the public and informing the authorities of their protests to obtain the necessary authorizations for large gatherings. All these elements require a range of communication skills, as students must make adjustments in their messages for different audiences and stakeholders. Identify, understand and engage in the right way with different audiences are some of the key stages of efficient communication. The work becomes even more difficult when some of your key audiences disagree with your point of view. Student demonstrators regularly issue press releases and social networks that are written extremely effectively and professionally. Activism at any level offers rich opportunities to practice these critical communication skills in a real context which is practically impossible to simulate in class.

• Teamwork / Collaboration: As I have already noted, these protests are massive. They involve hundreds of thousands of people in several places across the country. The organization of these major protests in a way that guarantees that everything remains under control requires immense teamwork and collaboration between large groups of people, many of whom meet for the first time. This in itself requires advanced interpersonal skills and cultural sensitivity because students come from the whole country and beyond the borders of Serbia. Being in the same team does not require being the same in every way. The biggest challenges in the world can only be resolved by the collaboration of several groups from a variety of disciplines, horizons, social statutes, etc. Being able to navigate the differences and stay focused on the common goal seems to be an obvious thing. However, it takes a lot of conscious efforts and training to be able to do so successfully.
• Fund collection: The blockages have been underway for more than three months now, which requires resources. Students have devoted a lot of efforts to collect funds and calls for donations in the form of meals / food and other resources, such as mattresses (they sleep in their university buildings), paint, fabric and posters for protest materials. They have inspired a lot to support their fight, and donations come from across the country and to the world. The word “fundraising” makes many people cringe. However, I think it is important to think about the collection of funds in terms of range of possibilities for much broader engagement than donations as a monetary. Time and talent are only two other examples of how we can make a non -monetary contribution and help support a cause.
• Networking and plea: Students' demonstrations have long restored the lost faith in change and democracy among Serbs. As is the case for many countries with authoritarian governments, Serbia suffers from a so-called brain flight. Serbian students are growing in systemic reforms in Serbia to stop the demographic decline. Students defend justice, democracy, equality, dignity and solidarity for all. This movement united Serbs in the world, with peaceful demonstrations occurring around the world and the Serbian diaspora gives a global conscience and shows support. I regularly join the Boston group and connected myself with several students from my Alma Mater; I know other Serbs who do the same. While we are focused on supporting the current fight, we have also discussed future opportunities and other ways to help you as these students are preparing to enter their careers. As many career advisers will highlight this, networking can occur anywhere and at any time, even during the events.

Put your money where your mouth is

I want to put an end to this play with a reminder and the emphasis that this comment does not concern politics or a call to students anywhere to join the demonstrations. This is an example of how professional development opportunities can occur everywhere. Advocacy can take the form of supporting local businesses. Fund collection can be organized for a charity of its choice. Teamwork can be exercised to start an initiative to clean a local beach. Leadership can be practiced by forming a club or a student organization.

What I hope to get out of this room is that you should not wait to apply your knowledge in a job closely linked to your field. Look for opportunities where your expertise in the matter will be precious for the greatest good. I hope this piece inspires you to shine and present your skills and knowledge in all the possible contexts that you care and enjoy.