TEDx—where TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design—is an international festival of ideals, people and ideas, which merits discussion. At the conference scientists, politicians, artists and social activists from Poland and around the world present their ideas. Participants, including dynamic young scientists, entrepreneurs, and social and cultural activists, are people who want to change the world around us. Collegium Civitas, a leading university in terms of internationalization of education in Poland, became a partner to TEDx Warsaw.
Collegium Civitas Rector, Prof. Stanisław Mocek has made the following statement on contemporary management: “We educate students so that they will be able to function in an international business milieu. But we also want then to know business should be sensitive to social issues and should lead to a balanced social development. We know how important it is to observe and understand phenomena from a holistic perspective. Today understanding the company or corporation’s environment, as well as social context, is the key to success. 20 years ago a manager could simply be a specialist in his or her own field and become successful. Today this is not enough. They must also be a specialist in communication, that is to say a master in so-called soft skills. This is how we educate our students who read Management. For them new media, communication and psychological aspects of management will form part of their basic training. And so TEDx is therefore a place for them.”
According to one expert, “Only 20% of new initiatives end up achieving the desired result. The reason for the failure of the vast majority of initiatives is the difficulty of gaining people’s support and engagement. The key objective in managing change is to replace a ‘we can’t’ attitude with one expressing ‘we can and it makes sense!'”
During the TEDx event we proposed participants in cooperation with the Pracownia Gier Szkoleniowych (PGS/Games Training Laboratory) to take part in a workshop. During the management simulation game we examined all the participants’ predispositions. Not long ago Jane McGonigal said that computer games can create a better world. How is that possible if you play Warcraft? For more information click here:
Such ideas have already been implemented for the first time in Poland by Collegium Civitas. A game encourages activity. During the game, the adrenaline stimulates the brain to fight against adversity. Therefore, our students are playing games for leaders. Today the world’s best universities use this approach to education. Business is about rivalry and struggle, but also partnership. All these aspects can be verified in skill-based games. After its completion, each participant received a comprehensive report detailing their predispositions. It is worth playing games! Therefore the Collegium Civitas and PGS hall was full of… very intelligent players.
This is a great tool that allows leaders to hone their leadership skills in a stressful simulation. It mimics the situation of real decision-making, the outcome of which may constitute the success or failure of procuring a contract.
During the workshop our experts explained how to learn from experience and how to get all the members of a team to achieve common goals.
“We are a university that is friendly to young business people. It is worth noting that, as the only university in Poland, we offer our students verification of their soft skills via PGS games. Thanks to these on-line games Collegium Civitas students will have their skills analyzed and will discover their strong attributes,” says Zofia Telakowska, creator of the Collegium Civitas Management programme along with Małgorzata Baran.
The seventh edition of the scientific TEDx conference generated a great deal of interest.
Collegium Civitas – more than just studies!