Thank you for the invitation to attend the Leadership workshop at the Nova Scotia Community College and the CBIE Conference 2017. It was quite an enjoyable experience.

 The Leadership workshop was ably facilitated by Jos Nolle. He called into question the role of a leader. Is it modelling or telling everyone what to do or disruption of the status quo? Is optimum as a leader a good idea or is it naïve? These questions were quite titillating to the mind and required some thought on how we operate as leaders. He noted that in institutionalising change it is important to form a strategic plan, vision and initiatives, enlist a volunteer army, enable action by removing barriers and generate short term wins. The importance of coaching as a means of releasing a person’s potential was also shared.

The wine tour to the Annapolis Valley was delightful as was the wine tasting. It was my first visit to a winery it was reminiscent of rum distilleries in Grenada. Congratulations Nova Scotia on your delectable wines.

The CBIE conference brought together participants from three continents sharing their expertise on international education. It also provided an excellent opportunity to network. Three sessions in particular were of great interest ‘Promoting a Healthy Campus’, “Promotion of Higher Education for Girls’ and ‘BEST Conference Model’. All three sessions have raised questions on how similar projects can be instituted in the Caribbean in general and Grenada in particular. Plans are already afoot for a possible ‘BEST conference’ with a UWI, TAMCC and NSCC partnership.

The social gatherings in the evenings were a great way to end the day, sharing a glass of wine, good food and great company. The history display at Pier 21 was indeed impressive. The Citadel was cold but the networking and camaraderie compensated for that. The final dinner was great fun complete with hilarious attempts to eat a whole lobster.

My warmest congratulations to Zoran, Kellie and Katie on their awards. They were very well deserved. Thank you NSCC for this experience. I left with much food for thought and action as we seek to improve the quality of education in our world.

Dr. Nicole Phillip-Dowe

Head, University Campus Grenada

University of th eWest Indies