The 6th RIT SG Global Consortium in Dubai: bringing global campuses as one unit

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"SG consortium is a learning conference where we as SG leaders have an amazing opportunity to work together on bringing global campuses as one unit. It is a huge privilege to be a part of this; getting to know other RIT students and working with them is amazing and I really can't wait for the next SG Consortium.", says Niko Katušić, RIT Croatia Student Government VP.

While most people can't wait for January because of the "New Year - New Me"opportunities, we believe there are some (students) out there who can't wait for January because of an annual Student Government Global Consortium event that takes place in one of RIT's Global campuses.

This year, it was RIT Dubai's turn to host the event. Our students Sven Kovačević (president of the SG), Marin Androš from Zagreb campus and Niko Katušić (vice president of SG) and Jovana Ivanović from Dubrovnik campus travelled there to represent RIT Croatia. In Dubai they were welcomed by 5 of their SG colleagues from the host Campus, accompanied by 4 SG members from other RIT Campuses (2 from the main campus and 2 from RIT Kosovo).

The agenda included 3-day workshops with updates from last year's consortium goals, assessment of current SG Global Committee, themed conversations such as: Project SpiRIT and other opportunities to engage students, deaf advocacy, finance structures, SG branding, increasing School spirit, building positive relationships with Faculty/Staff/Administration, and aligning SG efforts with Dr. Munson's vision. Advisors also shared updates from their campuses that have had an impact during the last year.

"We had a very tight schedule.", says Niko: "Every morning from 8:30 am until 3-4 pm we were on campus working together. We were presenting our goals that we accomplished from last year. We also had few brainstorming sessions how to solve existing challenges and how to interact with students even more."

While it was a business trip, students also had time to enjoy some of the Dubai's most famous sights such as the world tallest building - Burj Khalifa, Burj al Arab and the Jumeriah beach, Global Village, the desert safari and had a chance to learn more about UAE culture / lifestyle in the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding.

The students will continue working on their final report for the next 2-3 months; each campus set 3-4 individual goals that they will be working on in the next year but they also set 3 main goals that the Global committee will be working on.

And what about the learning outcomes? Niko says he continued to learn about leadership:

"Leadership is not all about being in charge and being the loudest person in the room. Because for me as a leader, success is when my colleges and friends are successful and when others feel proud a themselves and motivated for future projects. Studying here at RIT Croatia is huge advantage, and for me this was the best life decision that I made so far. Being involve actively in SG, leading group of students, making other students happy, creating environment for our students is something that shaped me as a leader and after all - as a person."

At the end of the Consortium the students showed their global spirit and are going to share awareness of the Global Campuses at their home campus in order to make students connected for future business ideas, give students an opportunity to cooperate and work together, no matter which campus they are coming from. This makes this year's Consortium a big success and we are all excited to see the outcomes of global student collaborations.