Celumusa Magagula at the recent GradStar event. GradsStar, featuring Dr David Molapo as patron, is a programme that gives students an opportunity to get recognised the country’s potential future leaders and to connect with employers. The top 100 students representing the 10 leading universities in the country had to participate in a number of workshops to determine if they have what it takes to be a leader.
Sharing his experiences on his journey to the top 100, Magagula said he thoroughly enjoyed the process every step of the way. Talking about the workshops, he explained what they entailed:
- The Fasken Workshop: A Towering Problem, to test if you have what it takes to StepUp. Candidates were given an opportunity to showcase their leadership and innovation skills through teamwork and thinking out of the box.
- Epiroc Workshop: When the WHY is clear, the HOW is easy. The activities included creating your personal brand statement; understanding your personal brand and your “legacy”; How to introduce yourself and your skill set in 30 seconds to a prospective new boss; and an interactive session using a board game design and Roadmap.
- DHL:Workshop, popularly known as The Big Yellow Machine, which is all about speed and efficiency of time sensitive and fragile shipments. The example they were given was transporting a sensitive / human organ (Specimen Shipment) within the Continent. DHL to co-ordinate start to end of the transportation cycle and thinking out of the box with creative solutions.
According to Magagula the GradStar experience was a real eye opener in terms of future decision making in the stream that he wishes to follow.” The exposure to different companies was quite enlightening, because I had no idea that companies I was familiar with, actually offered opportunities in my chosen field,” he concluded.