1) For planning purposes, how many hours of involvement should I expect for this program?
For the Leadership Facilitation Team, we estimate an average of 24 to 28 hours over a 12 month period per student. This would include trainings, giving workshops, attending team members workshops and de-briefing/reflecting. As we have been doing this program for many years, we are able to work with our team members to ensure they get a full experience even if they are going on an Exchange program for a semester.
For Leadership Development Program, we ask participants to dedicate approximately 10 hours over a semester. This includes attending at least one out of four workshops and one reflection session. Recordings of workshops are made available for missed sessions. One-on-one coaching sessions with the Leadership Skills Advisor (Joan) are available on-demand for debriefing/reflecting. Ideally, students in in the program engage in their own experiential learning activity. For example, if a student ins involved in a student club, is doing group projects for classes or has part-time work they can consider how they can bring tools and resources to these contexts along with their leadership mindset. As this is our second year piloting this stream, we know that some of our team members found it helpful with their internships, with group projects and exploring how to work with peers more effectively and with more self-awareness, with their approach to making decisions about their future and goals as well as how to navigate power and privilege in the learning environment.
2) I graduate the Fall, am I still eligible for Emerging Leaders Programs?
Yes! We offer the Emerging Leaders Discovery Series so you can sign up for any or all the workshops. The Leadership Development Program is offered over the Fall semester as well so you could complete that if your schedule allows!
3) When can I know more on the selection process for the Leadership Facilitation Team?
For the Leadership Facilitation Team we recruit applicants during set periods over the academic year and invite all selected candidates to an individual interview and a group interview. All interviews are in March and and we post the group interview times beforehand. Our tentative 2027 dates for group interviews are Wednesday, March 10 - 5:30 to 7:00 pm or Thursday, March 11 - 5:30 to 7:00 pm (TBC). If necessary, we will add more dates and times.
4) Will there be training sessions for the Leadership Facilitation Team?
Yes, we have workshops/training sessions as well as debriefing and reflection sessions planned for the Leadership Facilitation Team.
5) Does the Leadership Facilitation Team take place only in the Fall semester or over the entire academic year?
The Leadership Facilitation Team is usually for the entire academic year but we can make exceptions for students who will only be at McGill in the Fall semester.
6) As I live on the West Island, are the Leadership Discovery Series workshops offered online or in person?
The Leadership Discovery Series workshops are offered both virtually or in-person. In Fall 2026 they will be offered in-person and in Winter 2027 they will be offered online.
7) I want to know more about the Leadership Development Program
The Leadership Development Program (formerly know as "Emerging Leaders Stream 2") was a pilot project in 2024 and is now offered three times a year. We aim to give students a practical perspective on how they are practicing leadership and teamwork through group projects, part-time work, volunteering or other experiences. To do this, we offer a cohort of students a series of workshops with activities along with a reflections session to give students time to focus on unpacking what leadership and teamwork skills they are developing through these experiences more adeptly, resulting hopefully in them feeling confident and able to add this to their CVs! This program is open to all students.
What students gaineds:
- Confidence in leadership ability
- Leadership mindset development
- Learning through discussion
- Teamwork & communication
Past participants identified meaningful ways they could improve their leadership capacities.
Student Voices
“Participating gave me the confidence to pursue leadership, regardless of my background.”
“I learned a great deal from my peers during breakout discussions.”
“Gained valuable knowledge about leadership and teamwork.”
“Provides a strong foundation for future leaders.”
This program is designed as an accessible leadership experience that will be useful now, giving you structured information/resources via the workshops and reflection to dig into your own experience to assess your strengths and identify where you may need to grow. We also have tools including videos that cover what skills employers are most looking for so you can more readily articulate your skills for the job market.
8) Do we have to choose our workshop foundation for the Leadership Facilitation Team?
The Leadership Facilitation Team will be trained to lead the Leadership Discovery Series.
9) Can the experiences or any work I do here be shown on my CV? What are other benefits of being part of the team besides the experience?
Our aim for all the Emerging Leaders Programs is for students to have meaningful leadership experiences that they can show on their CVs as well as an opportunity to reflect and identify the tools and skills they are developing through these experiences! We also encourage selected team members to take advantage of other CaPS resources like our CV or Cover Letter workshops to adapt your practical experiences into being more career-ready. In essence, this program is your gateway to an exciting blend of practical leadership development and self-expression within the university landscape, all while gearing you up with the skills that future employers are looking for. With these practical experiences, past team members have shared that they feel more confident about their skills sets. We are integrating all these programs so they will be recorded on students' Student Experience Record (SER)
10) I'm just wondering if participation in some of the activities comes with compensation?
Our Emerging Leaders Programs are not compensated. We aim to support students with providing accessible programming and the opportunity to reflect on your professional and leadership capacities in practical and tangible ways.
11) What would happen in the event of a conflict between my course schedule and the workshop and/or activity schedule?
If you are accepted into the Leadership Facilitation TEAM and are wondering about a time conflict between your course schedule and our workshop schedule, we always ask our team members to sign up according to their availability. This way, you sign up to give workshops when you are available. For Leadership Facilitation TEAM trainings, we try to schedule these events to accommodate the majorities availability and we also often record virtual sessions. We also can arrange to meet one-on-one to catch people up.
If you are part of the Leadership Development Program, we record all the workshops so you are able to watch them according to your schedule.