Showcase Saturdays: Akram Yusof

Leaderonomics has always been a firm believer in empowering youths, a.k.a the leaders of the future, to share their journey and success stories with others.

“Showcase Saturday” is a platform by students for students to shed a glimpse of preview to their lives in which they derive leadership lessons.

The birth of this column stems from our experiences with students who have leadership qualities – with the hopes that through their sharing, others will be inspired to venture out of their comfort zones to do extraordinary things as well.

It is through these experiences that will help students grow and make their marks in society.

Name: Akram Yusof
Course/University: Bachelor in Computer Science at University Tenaga Nasional
Experience: Axiata University Leadership Development Programme (AULDP).

How was the camp?

The summer camp programme was truly an amazing experience. Compared to many other leadership camps, I found this camp to be simply extraordinary and unique due to the extensive content that was provided throughout the camp.

It is quite rare that there is a summer camp or programme that focuses on developing future CEOs, and it was through this camp that we learnt about what it takes to be one.

We were taught based on the 3C’s, which were Creativity, Critical Thinking and Communication – the three criteria that are important in leadership.

(Above: Akram and friends being guided by two facilitators)

What was the best part of this camp?

The best part of this programme was that after going through the workshops, we were also given the ability of applying what we learned through the business simulations, which I believe were incredibly challenging to many.

The first simulation we had certainly set the benchmark for all the other simulations later on. It pushed us beyond our limits and made many of us feel like giving up, but by staying strong with constant motivation within the team, we managed to pull through and do our best.

Tell us more!

We had four simulations altogether throughout the programme, and each got harder and more challenging in its own particular way. It was truly designed to test your mettle, to see how far you can go and how much it would take to make you give up, of which the answer was simply to never give up.

When there is a will, there is a way to get things done – one of the things I learnt throughout the programme.

Another thing that I find to be very important, especially when working in a team, is to know your team’s strengths and weaknesses so that you can put them in roles that suit their personality and set of skills, as it would help you to become a high performance team.

(Above: Akram and teammates)

Sum up your experiences in one paragraph.

Overall, if you were to ask me if the AULDP was hard and challenging? My answer would be a definite yes.

But, does it matter? Looking at the skills and knowledge that you will learn, as well as the friends and bonds you would make, all of it definitely matters and is worth the hard work.

If you had an experience during your university/college days that you would like to share, email it in to campus@leaderonomics.com!