This episode peels back the curtain on the current state of university education, especially at the University of Ghana, addressing the critical question: Are we, as graduates, equipped for success after our academic endeavors? We scrutinize the stark transition from lecture halls to boardrooms and the undeniable benefits of real-world experience through internships. Delving further, we dissect the alarming shortage of soft skills among students and spotlight affirmative programs like One Student One Laptop, designed to foster research prowess and digital literacy.
Remember the student who never dreamed of leading but somehow always found themselves at the helm? That's the protagonist of our second segment – a student whose reluctant journey to university presidency unfolded with the drama of a political thriller. This tale of accidental leadership is a testament to the power of influence and social capital in the combustible arena of student politics. It's a narrative charged with internal conflicts, the clashing tides of external pressures, and the momentous decision to embrace a role that could shape not just a campus, but a personal legacy.
In our concluding piece, we brave the complex topic of bullying and the crucible it forms in shaping emotional intelligence and leadership. Through the lens of personal anecdotes and the experiences of current University of Ghana SRC President, Frank Tsikata, we examine the tightrope walk of leadership amidst adversity. This episode is not just a conversation; it's a journey through the emotional landscape of youth leadership, unpacking the resilience required to stand steadfast in one's purpose against the intoxicating pull of power. Join us for a powerful exploration of what it means to lead, learn, and leave a mark that echoes beyond university walls.
This episode peels back the curtain on the current state of university education, especially at the University of Ghana, addressing the critical question: Are we, as graduates, equipped for success after our academic endeavors? We scrutinize the stark transition from lecture halls to boardrooms and the undeniable benefits of real-world experience through internships. Delving further, we dissect the alarming shortage of soft skills among students and spotlight affirmative programs like One Student One Laptop, designed to foster research prowess and digital literacy.
Remember the student who never dreamed of leading but somehow always found themselves at the helm? That's the protagonist of our second segment – a student whose reluctant journey to university presidency unfolded with the drama of a political thriller. This tale of accidental leadership is a testament to the power of influence and social capital in the combustible arena of student politics. It's a narrative charged with internal conflicts, the clashing tides of external pressures, and the momentous decision to embrace a role that could shape not just a campus, but a personal legacy.
In our concluding piece, we brave the complex topic of bullying and the crucible it forms in shaping emotional intelligence and leadership. Through the lens of personal anecdotes and the experiences of current University of Ghana SRC President, Frank Tsikata, we examine the tightrope walk of leadership amidst adversity. This episode is not just a conversation; it's a journey through the emotional landscape of youth leadership, unpacking the resilience required to stand steadfast in one's purpose against the intoxicating pull of power. Join us for a powerful exploration of what it means to lead, learn, and leave a mark that echoes beyond university walls.
Do you believe the university is preparing students for success in life?
Speaker 2:
No, I don't think so.
Speaker 1:
Number one business and self-development podcast. Connected Minds podcast.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I think there's a lot of gap in between how what a school looks like and then what you're actually seeing within the school that you're in. Now, if you're in the university, you think things are easier the moment you're done with school, but the moment you're getting closer to finishing school, that is where your reality starts hitting you. If you get a chance to enter into the career world, like doing internships and attachments when you're in school, it takes you closer to what the real world looks like when it comes to life after school. So people who have had that experience before tend to add more value to themselves before they leave school.
Speaker 2:
In a case where the university is not making any deliberate attempts to make some of these things easily accessible to students, it becomes a challenge, do I mean? People are lacking their soft skills, communication wise, using computers in this digital age and even how to navigate your way around being a graduate of the university. All these things are not being taken care of. People are not getting the chance to explore other alternatives, like practical um side of the theory, things we do in school, and when it comes to the field entrepreneurship too, there is least support when you look at the kind of system you're running here within the country. So at the end, when students come out of school, we realize they're really struggling because they do not have any other thing to do. Aside the mundane way of reading books in school and then sitting for an exam, there's nothing else to show for it, aside the few ones who were able to do something impactful and then added value to themselves when they were in school.
Speaker 1:
I've just started this conversation and just gone in straight to my favorite question, right, I've just started this conversation and just gone in straight to my favorite question, right, I should have really taken it slow and build it up, but it's a question that I thought it's on the mind of a lot of people, especially some of us as well who came from university. But, you know, we did things slightly differently, but we don't. We definitely, I definitely do not think that the average university life prepares a student, you know, for the university of life. If I may say Now, what do you think that universities can incorporate, especially University of Ghana, where you are the SRC president? What can they do now to prepare students For University of Ghana.
Speaker 2:
Luckily, you know, our vice-chancellor is running the One Student One Laptop initiative, which is bringing students closer to their digital age. So the whole idea behind the One Student One Laptop initiative is to provide computer equipment laptops mostly to students who do not have them and those who cannot afford them. At the end, we are looking at students bettering their research work, having the chance to do more practical work and also getting closer to some of the things they can explore while they are students. There are a lot of opportunities out there, but sometimes the excuses behind I do not have computers, I cannot do research hinder students from exploring these things. So, looking at some of the things the vice chancellor is doing, if it is incorporated in other universities it is going to help, and similarly, at k-university they run this course I don't know the name, but it has run through their computer systems together with the dean of student affairs, where they train students in interview skills, cv writing and another thing that is relevant to the career world. If other schools adopt this I mean to the university of ghana and the other schools as well it is really going to help students because realize that when students step out of school, they lack these basic skills. When you sit them down for interviews, some would feel woefully. It is extremely bad. And when it comes to what you're supposed to give, to what employees are looking out for, they do not have those things. So on the side of k-n-o-s, that is one thing they've adopted which is really helping their system. So subsequently, if other schools are supposed to or able to incorporate that, it is really going to help and if we are able to create a lot of opportunities for students. When it comes to intentions and attachments, it is really good because at the end it gives you a preview of how the future of work is going to look like to you, how you are going to cope in a company when you're done with school.
Speaker 2:
Some of these people or students do not have experiences in any of these things no attachments, no internships, no industrial experience the moment they leave school and then they go to the various companies and organizations to go and do their national service.
Speaker 2:
They really struggle because they do not have experiences in any of these and it would shock you that interpersonal relation skills is very important when it comes to the career world, but students do not really learn these kind of things because, I mean, I had no internship, I had no attachment, so where am I going to learn these things from? So it's like all these things which are supposed to be learned before coming out of school are supposed to be linked. When you are done with school, when you're doing your national service or you've picked up a job role, that is where you are forced to learn these kind of things. But when you look at some of our schools in the western world, these things are exposed to them before they come out. So they come out as holistic graduates who are thriving in all these areas. So the few things we've mentioned if you're able to incorporate that, it is going to build our students for success like big time I agree.
Speaker 1:
I agree. I think you know when people come out of university, um around here they're a bit too timid, right um, almost not prepared for the world.
Speaker 1:
Yes, you know you've just spent about four years maximum six years at university, coming out to be, let's say, a doctor, or you know you just did, did an HR course, whatever but this is the time where you are coming into the real world, where you're going to spend a huge amount of your life. Yes, interact with people and I definitely think that you know universities definitely can do better, but this is the reason why I love conversation with you the fact that, as a young person, you saw opportunity in young leadership and you decided to go to become the SRC president for the University of Ghana for this year. I think that's amazing. It's marvelous. Now I want us to go deep into your pursuit for this leadership all right.
Speaker 2:
So I think I did a lot of things on my side. I thought I was just building a brand and then doing what I love doing being the spotlight and being able to influence a group of people. I created this information bank where I was feeding students with academic posts and opportunities. And you know, at the University of Ghana campus, there's one thing students are really interested in. So the moment you're giving them content like this, they are going to stay glued to whichever screen you're projecting that through.
Speaker 2:
And then the plan was not to become a university president from the start. What was the plan? The plan was simply to be influential and for me to be able to snap my fingers and then I get people moving. That was just the plan. It just felt good that you are doing something good for students and at the end, you are being able to influence them towards a particular direction. So during that time I drew a very thick line between leadership and occupying offices. So there are a few times where people would compare me and then the things I was doing to certain executives in various offices src, junior common rooms and other ones, because the kind of things I was doing for students, you would assume I was campaigning for src president or I'm holding a very high profiled position somewhere. But you get close and you realize that no, he's not in any position.
Speaker 1:
Just a regular student.
Speaker 2:
Right. So where is this forward from? That was the conversation. So it made me more popular and then people started becoming intrigued about the personality Because my releases were getting increasingly relevant to students. It was being shared across the platforms we had on campus. Yet I was not within any office. And then that time the plan was to not run first as a president. The plan to run first as a president in some way came up when I was at level 200. The plan was actually to just lead and make impact for the students to benefit from and in some way, somehow I was convinced into running for Sabah JSA president because they thought I was capable and I was going to do the work. I had not really considered for an election before my whole life. It is mostly by appointment. Yeah, they were like oh, you can do the work, so just get this position and then work on it. It so I was not really comfortable with.
Speaker 1:
People are coming to vote for you, right, yeah?
Speaker 2:
so when that happened, I was like no, I'm not going for any position again. Then that was when the slc idea died. So how do you then?
Speaker 1:
eventually say that I'm gonna to put my name up and this time I'm going to be voted on.
Speaker 2:
So right after we were moved to Sabah, I didn't stop doing what I was doing to help students, and that time I had gone to Hope Popular. My contacts had shot up from around 130 before to around 13,000 when I was moved to Kapon. So that was like within the first semester. And then campaign had started, first house election and people were calling me out oh, come for the position. I was able to also create a Telegram channel. That was where I was using to disseminate my information. It was around 12,600 subscribers on that channel. So people felt you had everything when it comes to social capital and then supporters, so you should go in for the position. Now I was like, no, what happened to Sabah still lingers on my mind and then it really pains me. So there's no way I'm going to go in for another position.
Speaker 2:
Then, second semester, I moved to a new hall, ish, because I'm so comfortable in um diaspora. I was far from campus and then I had a lot of rounds to be making on come on main campus. So I was like, well, let me get closer to main campus. So I moved to ish too. Then, I think a week to the elections, conversations of parents started. So initially everyone was running as a presidential candidate, but you're supposed to get um irani mates as well. So my name came up a few times. And then people even came to me oh, I feel you're running for South Sea president. I'm disappointed. Why didn't you tell me you know what we are willing to do for you. I got a lot of texts in my gm oh go, you're willing to do this, we're willing to do that for you. But I never paid attention to that.
Speaker 2:
Then, on the last day of fouling, where they were closing nominations for those who were officially coming to fall as a pair I was in term at that time then I received a call that um, um, I've been told here pairing with this person to run first, I'll see vice president. At that time and I was like oh, no one. I've not entered into any parent agreement with anybody. Secondly, if I'm even entering the race, I'm not coming to run as a vice president. I don't want to run as as president. That's right. And that time I was so childish about the whole thoughts so I was even laughing when I was speaking to them. Then around 4 pm they said I should come to campus. There's an emergency meeting. I should come.
Speaker 2:
I went to campus and then my vice president, who happened to be my running mate in the election, was in my hall and the conversation was um, we are supposed to pair because he has not gotten a pair yet and the other options are available, but he just wants to win the election once and for all. And I was like, hey, this is so somewhere for me because I'm not, I'm not ready, and then the nominations close today. How am I supposed to take such a decision without even telling my parents about it? And I'm just coming to enter into such huge election as university of ghana, such elections. Then around 6pm, I started agreeing. I was like, okay, I'm going to run, but not as a vice presidential candidate. Then his other management team did also not agree. They wanted him to run for president while IB is running late as vice president.
Speaker 2:
Then I was like no, so around 7.40pm it was like 20 minutes closing of the nominations. My people also came around my manager and there's other people who have been mentoring me and all that. So they came around and then we're trying to reach an agreement that I have built so much over the past three years that I cannot just settle for vice president. And the only mistake someone may call it on my side is the fact that I simply did not start campaigning to people that I was going for as a president, but I was doing the works of someone who was an aspirant. That was how I got the numbers, obviously, and that was how I got popular. Then, around 7 50 that was like 10 minutes to the deadline when I car driving to the union desert union building, where you're supposed to go for, and then he agreed to go for vice president. I was not even comfortable with that decision. I was like are you very, very sure of your decision? It was like yes, it's a nice expression. I realized there was a lot of disappointments on his face. But like, this is where we are. I mean, in life you sacrifice sometimes. So we both appended our signatures.
Speaker 2:
I was in a chelsea shirt, by the way and it became a trending matter on campus that how can I win an election on campus? I'm not serious. I have a very poor brand. Why am I wearing a chelsea shirt to go in for nomination for such office? So people were closer to us realized that this decision was hasty. It came just recently, so we're not prepared to even wear suit or captain or whatever to go in far and. And then ha, so I was just wearing a Chelsea shirt, we filed and then the work had to start. That was just two weeks before exam, so you can imagine the time I was supposed to use to study. Now I had to use this time to campaign. Now, the name was out there, but people had not met me.
Speaker 2:
Right name was out there but people had not met me, right, I was so much interested in this type of power where you would influence people without they having access to you. So most of the times you never see me on campus, even till now, unless I want to make myself available. So you know, all these times I was so popular you only see my flies and my pictures on flies but in-person interactions were so difficult and I was so fond of wearing masks on campus. Okay, yes, throughout those periods, even sometimes in the campaign, I was wearing mask.
Speaker 2:
I didn't want people to feel they have like 100 access to you or you are known. When that happened, they get used to you, so the influence decreases. But when it's when it still feels fresh and the personality still hangs at the top and it's some something people are still trying to reach out to, you get a chance to get this um, I don't know influence on them yeah that was, that was just plan, so that was how we found they had to work towards the election itself, and then we came up with a very historic percentage.
Speaker 2:
Was it 65%?
Speaker 1:
Okay.
Speaker 2:
Four different pairs and that is the highest number of votes ever collated at the University of Ghana 10,000, plus votes for a pay.
Speaker 1:
I'm sure there are aspirants and their question is how exactly did you win the election? Hard work.
Speaker 2:
Like extreme hard work, because the morning before I filed, a lot of people were posting when they started that come and contest. And people will not just call you out to come and contest if you've not done something for them or if you're not known for something. Now, when the election was ongoing, um, we're voting via a portal. It was online. Online, it would get to a part times within the day. The vote margin would increase from 1,000 to 2,000, like within a few minutes. Then my very residents would be scared. They'd be like hey, are they touching the system? And I'm like no, I knew what I was doing. So the Telegram channel I was telling you about had about 13,000 subscribers. So momentarily During the election period, I will post there that Please, if you have not voted, kindly go vote. The moment I post that, the vote margin increases by a very wide range. Okay, right, so I saw that it is basically what I had done for these 13 sets of people.
Speaker 1:
That is making them vote for you.
Speaker 2:
Exactly, they are paying you back. Basically, that was the whole thing and those numbers that we got on the Telegram channel. They all got there because they consumed some of the information we shared across to them, or they explored some of the opportunities I shared with them that is the only way you would find yourself on that speech or they explored some of the opportunities I shared with them. That is the only way you would find yourself on that speech. So, some way, somehow, all those 13 people there had been impacted by some of the things I had done on campus. So it was basically consistent hard work, because it started from level 100. The second I was in level 100, then 22, then 23. Oh no, that was 2021, 2023. So all the works we had had done for that few years and the one that my vice president had also complimented with yeah, just give us that.
Speaker 1:
You know, frank um, leadership is highly tied into service and how you're speaking, I could tell. Because you served the people so much, they felt that they needed to put you in a place where you can provide even more service to them. Now, how do you define success?
Speaker 2:
Yes, so that is marking out the things you want to do for me. I relate that to my notes pad all the time. Okay, if you take my notes part, like I have long-term goals written in it, by the end of this month I should have been able to mark or take this one out. Then I have weekly based ones and then I have ones for daily basis. So the moment I do something there, I take it and then that is success for me. The moment it is done, the moment I know I have crossed it out, that is success.
Speaker 2:
So I just outline these plans in my notes part and then, the moment I don't do it, I don't feel okay. So I wake up like 4 am and I'm like, no, let me work on this If I don't feel okay. So I wake up like four and I'm like, no, let me work on this, if I don't work on this, I can't work on another plan. So that is how it simply works. And then I end up. So if you take my notes but then you go to realize I cancelled almost every page, like that is what I had to do to make sure I'm getting as far as everything I'm doing yeah, while you were saying that, I was I was almost getting a bit teary, because that's exactly how I do.
Speaker 1:
I have a to-do list, okay, and once I take off, I'm like, yeah, thank god, I've done that, yes, I've done that, yes, and that can get you going. Before you know it, you're doing those small, you know, like a little drop of water makes a mighty ocean right, and it comes with this fulfillment like yeah if you're so happy.
Speaker 2:
Everything is on point. Yeah, everything is getting done. Yeah, when other people are watching, they might not feel you are being successful at what you are doing, but within you you know this is what I am supposed to do. This is what I want to achieve at this point in time. If I have done it, that is what that matters, not how other people are seeing it. So really.
Speaker 1:
The truth is that you can never measure your level of success against someone. You can't let someone be the benchmark. Right, you can never do that. Yeah, you can never do that. I want to take you back a bit. When you were speaking earlier on, you spoke about being bullied a lot when you were younger. What was happening at that time?
Speaker 2:
I started being bullied in nursery school. I think I was too small All of us, I was extremely small. I remember my parents were telling me that they had to let me stay in class one for three good years like three times Just for me to grow in height before they will push me to the next level, because I was so small.
Speaker 2:
And they just admitted that, oh, he's smart and everything, but you're too small to move on to the next level so during those times, you know, we had people were taller in the class and then I was the tiniest in the class yet the smartest, if I would say so. It came with this friction, you know, when we were children. These things happen sometimes and because I was smarter, I think in primary one most of the girls wanted to be around me, and then the boys were not too happy about that, so constantly they would pick on me and Make fun of you, yes, and even beat me sometimes.
Speaker 2:
Wow yeah, it was literally like a joke until class six. I think that was when I had one of the extreme levels of being bullied. So I think something happened. I was on a mags register in class six. I was a class perfect and I was a school perfect as well. Then it said I did not come for class or something, so obviously I did not mark them as present. And then they got pissed. So when we closed from school that time they actually attacked me and gave me the beatings of a lifetime.
Speaker 2:
Then I reported this issue to the school authorities and they were supposed to read an apology letter to me at assembly. They read the letter and I was like I'm not happy with the content of the letter. As young as I was that time, I could tell when someone had regretted their actions or not. So I just told them you're, you don't, you're not showing remorse for what you did, so dropped a new letter. Can you imagine? On that same day I was beaten again, like by these same boys wow, yes, by these same boys and a lot of things boys were doing that I was not so much involved in. I found them as having toxic traits.
Speaker 1:
Right.
Speaker 2:
Like beating people up to prove a point. You know toxic masculinity.
Speaker 1:
Yeah.
Speaker 2:
Doing things to prove that you are a man. I was not fond of those things, so I was categorized as a flexible masculine which comes with name calling and then being, I don't know, sidelined right in a lot of things.
Speaker 1:
I understand exactly what you mean, yeah, yeah, you know, I was very small as well, okay, but I had a strategy. I was small but I was fast and I was very troublesome, but what I did was, in my class, the tallest and the strongest of boys were my friends. Okay, I made friends with them. In fact, there were two tall guys they were, so they were taller than almost anybody in the school. They were my friends so it was hard for me to.
Speaker 1:
They were my friends, so it was hard for me to get myself into those kind of trouble. Um, sometimes I caused some of them through them, you know.
Speaker 2:
But say no to bullying man, say no to bullying I guess for me times I was never able to speak to my parents about it. Wow, it was most of the time my mother was traveling, so I spent most of of my childhood days with my dad and my dad. The relationship we had was purely make the greets, let me award you. It was like my dad was an elector but he was not. But that was the kind of relationship we had. Go make the A's, let me reward you. We never had that personal interaction so I never spoke to anybody about these things.
Speaker 2:
And if you are a child and these things are happening to you, if you don't take care, you build a lot of bitterness and pain within you. That's something I realized when I got to senior high school. I realized I had built a lot of bitter experience and pain because I never got to speak to anybody about it Not being friends, not family, family, not a counselor and then things were happening that was really getting to me, but I never expressed these things to anybody wow, I I really encourage that people should talk.
Speaker 1:
You know they should find someone and speak to them. Um, you know advice for someone who's thinking of you know, taking over your position. You know what advice would you give to them?
Speaker 2:
If you want to work, politics should never be part of the conversation. If you really want to serve the interests of the students now, you are supposed to guard your emotional intelligence too. Else, when you step into these shoes, you would even want to resign the next day because the pressure is a lot like. It's a lot of pressure attending meetings, balancing social life, academic work and all of that. And if you don't take care, if you are someone who is fond of instant gratification, where you always want to please or enjoy the sense of fulfillment from current happenings, you end up making a lot of mistakes. So if you're ever aspiring to be a president or take up other leadership roles, critics will come.
Speaker 2:
Political talks, interest and opportunities would also come your way. But at every point in time you're supposed to leverage on the reason why you came, what you actually want to do for students, else your impact will never be felt. And then you think you're helping the students out, but the moment you fall off and then you look at yourself in the mirror and then what you've done so far, you realize that no, someone actually ran the administration using you, which is mostly no good. Another thing is the moment you get closer to building that power. Everyone becomes a friend. Everyone becomes an enemy. Everyone will try to be in your good books and elsewhere. When you are not there, they would settle on bad terms against you with other people. Wow, yes, people who are ever willing to aspire for this position should know that these are really good words, that these are really good words.
Speaker 1:
These are really good words. I'm even inspired, you know. These are really good words. Um, we've just been speaking to frank um chikata, who is the current src president, uh, for the university of ghana. Now, I believe in young leadership, youth leadership, because that's where we start building ourselves from, we build our network, we build our confidence. Courage you know all these things that we need for life and I definitely think, because you've been bold enough to take on this challenge, you've got a bright future ahead of you, man. So, thank you guys for listening and you know, yeah, stay connected.