PhD student Nishikant Gupta 'Leader of Tomorrow'
Posted on 04/05/2013
Nishikant Gupta, a 3rd year PhD student at the Geography Department under the supervision of Dr Michael Chadwick and Professor Nick Drake, qualified for participation as a Leader of Tomorrow in the 43rd St. Gallen Symposium through the essay on River Conservation in India he submitted to the St. Gallen Wings of Excellence Award 2013. This is the second time that he had been selected for this symposium. This year's event was held in St. Gallen, Switzerland 30 April to 3 May and the topic of this year's gathering was “Rewarding Courage”.
During the course of four action packed days, Nishikant attended a breakfast meeting with Mr. Aditya Ghosh, President, IndiGo Airlines, India, and discussed how to be a better leader and deal with circumstances where tough and risky decisions are required. The workshop on nuclear power policies, practices and problems encountered by Governments was conducted by Lady Barbara Judge. The workshop on the differences encountered when conducting business in Asia by Koh Boon Hwee, and the workshop by General Stanley McChrystal highlighting the complexity of military intervention in Afghanistan gave him a deeper understanding of some of the important issues being faced by the global leaders of today. The plenary talks by Ali Babacan, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey, Mohamed Ahmed Nur, Mayor of Mogadishu, Somalia, and Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) gave him an insight into the level of courage that is required and expected from a Leader, despite being surrounded by hostile and dangerous environment.
The group discussions and the interactive sessions with 200 fellow Leaders of Tomorrow from across 60 countries gave Nishikant a global perspective on the issues beyond his field of research. The 43rd St. Gallen Symposium was a unique experience and one that will not be forgotten by him. The friendships built will remain strong for years to come, and make that crucial difference when associated fields cross paths in the near future.