MyGlasgow Students

'Future Leaders for a Changing World' at a glance:

This course is available in Semester 1. Course code: DUMF1079. Credits: 20. 

Please note this course is taught on the University of Glasgow Dumfries campus. Please only select if you are already attending classes in Dumfries as there is a significant distance between both campuses (Travel Distance: 125km)

What will I learn from this course?

This course aims to develop adaptable, reflective, and socially responsible graduates capable of exercising leadership in complex and uncertain environments. It equips students to integrate sustainability, ESG principles, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals into ethical and evidence-informed decision-making, while fostering creative, systems-based approaches to problem-solving. Through interdisciplinary learning, collaborative practice, and structured reflection, the course develops self-awareness, inclusive communication, and agile mindsets, supporting students to demonstrate agency, resilience, and connectivity, and to apply transferable skills for lifelong learning and leadership across diverse professional and community contexts.

How will I be assessed on this course?

The course ILOs:

• ILO 1: Interdisciplinary Leadership & ESG Awareness
• By the end of this course, students will be able to explain and apply key concepts of socially responsible and sustainable leadership, demonstrating an understanding of how ESG principles and the UN SDGs (8, 9, 11) shape effective decision-making in contemporary organisational and community contexts.
• ILO 2: Creative, Ethical, and Systemic Problem-Solving
• Students will be able to analyse complex, multi-faceted societal challenges and generate creative, ethical, and evidence-informed solutions, drawing on interdisciplinary frameworks to address uncertainty, systems-level interactions, and competing stakeholder needs.
• ILO 3: Self-Awareness, Positionality & Reflective Practice
• Students will be able to critically reflect on their own leadership behaviours, positionality, and cognitive biases, demonstrating growing self-awareness and the ability to adapt their leadership approach in response to diverse teams, communities, and contexts.
• Students will be able to collaborate effectively in diverse groups, employing clear communication, agile thinking, and emotional intelligence to co-create solutions and contribute positively to team-based challenges and real-world scenarios.
• ILO 4: Collaboration, Communication & Agile Mindsets
  • Students will be able to collaborate effectively in diverse groups, employing clear communication, agile thinking, and emotional intelligence to co-create solutions and contribute positively to team-based challenges and real-world scenarios.

What unique learning experiences will I have on this course?

On this course you’ll get far more than lectures. You’ll dive into real-world problems through hands-on, experiential learning that connects study to actual situations. You’ll work on projects that simulate or involve real organisations or community issues, giving you a chance to practise leadership, collaboration, creative thinking and sustainability skills outside the usual classroom setting. Through this style of learning you’ll see exactly how the ideas you explore link to real workplaces and societal challenges, helping you build confidence, sharpen practical skills and leave with experiences and capabilities that matter beyond

Who are the course leaders?

Douglas Shand is leading this course.

'The IMPACT Project: Designing, Simulating, and Evaluating Campaigns for Change' at a glance:

This course is available in Semester: 2. Course code: MED1023. Credits: 20.

What will I learn from this course?

This project-based course equips you to tackle complex real-world challenges by designing, simulating elements of, and evaluating campaigns for change. You’ll begin by learning about the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) more broadly, before focusing on SDG3: Good Health and Wellbeing. You’ll then work in interdisciplinary teams to:

1. Choose an SDG3-related problem to focus on from a menu informed by employers’ priorities;
2. Explore how it and its key causes connect to other SDGs, from multiple perspectives;
3. Generate some possible solutions and compare their potential for positive vs negative SDG-related outcomes;
4. Select a solution and co-design a campaign strategy to bring it to life; and
5. Test and refine parts of your strategy through simulations that mirror real-world implementation challenges.

Along the way, you’ll develop skills in problem-solving, communication, and critical thinking, to name just a few! By the end, you’ll have the confidence and tools to lead and collaborate in driving sustainable change in diverse contexts beyond the university and into your future career

How will I be assessed on this course?

The course ILOs:

• ILO 1: Explain how a problem related to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3, ‘Good Health and Wellbeing’, and key underlying causes connect to other SDGs to predict possible impacts and unintended risks arising from a selection of imagined solutions.
• ILO 2: Collaborate in an interdisciplinary group to design a campaign strategy for implementing a partial solution to an SDG3-related problem and communicate the nuances of decisions made during development to influence others.
• ILO 3: Integrate information from diverse sources to guide decisions about how to address selected implementation-related challenges when outcomes are uncertain, and negotiate conflicting perspectives and interests with diplomacy.
• ILO 4: Reflect on personal and collective successes and failures, and relevant structural factors, to formulate recommendations for refining a change campaign, to increase its likelihood of positively contributing to addressing an SDG3-related problem.

What unique learning experiences will I have on this course?

This course is a disruptive, hands-on experience that challenges the status quo and empowers you to create real impact. It is unique in numerous ways:

• Employer-Informed: The menu of SDG3-related problems you choose from is informed by employers’ priorities, ensuring relevance beyond the classroom.
• Simulates Real-World Tasks: You’ll be learning through work. In designing, simulating aspects of, and evaluating change campaigns, you’ll engage in problem-solving tasks required in authentic non-profit, public, and private sector roles. Your assessments will feel real and relevant.
• Fun Learning Methods: Our practical classes are immersive and interactive. You’ll learn through games, fact-finding quests, hands-on and creative activities, and scenario-based challenges. Your accompanying online learning resources won’t just involve reading. They’ll include videos, podcasts, interactive elements, and quizzes.
• Interdisciplinary Collaboration: You’ll broaden your understanding of complex topics by working with and learning from peers from diverse degree programmes.
• Integrates Self-Reflection: Reflection is embedded throughout, with games and templates that help you evaluate your progress and articulate the future skills you’ve gained to employers.
• Tangible Outputs: You’ll leave the course with a portfolio demonstrating your skills and vision to show to future employers.
• Aligns with Education for Sustainable Development (ESD): By promoting ESD competencies (including systems thinking, collaboration, and critical thinking), the course actively contributes towards SDG4: Quality Education.

With flexible resources you can revisit anytime, this isn’t just a course; it’s a launchpad for becoming a change-maker and creative leader, shaping a fairer, more sustainable future.

Who are the course leaders?

Mia Wilson & Laura Sharp are leading this course.