Online Guest Speaker Sessions at ESEI

At ESEI, we love to encourage students to build their professional networks.That’s why we organise guest speaker sessions with diverse professionals and alumni – people who offer a wealth of knowledge and advice to students, and inspire them on their learning journeys. 

One of our professors, Steve Mallon, has incorporated excellent guest speakers into his courses. So let’s take a look at what industry leaders he’s invited to chat, and how sessions like these can help to expand students’ knowledge:

Guest Speaker Sessions with Steve Mallon

Steve Mallon is an education consultant, trainer and coach. He teaches two courses at ESEI: Leadership and Organisational Behaviour and Global Governance and International Organisations. He’s worked in education for more than 30 years, and has seen first-hand how important it is for students to network early in their careers. 

Steve has invited speakers from large international organisations and businesses to speak in his leadership course. The speakers have focused broadly on what leadership is, different methods of leadership, and what it means to be a good leader in the 21st-century workplace.

In his global governance course, experts from organisations such as UNESCO, The World Bank and departments of the EU have come to speak.The main focus of these guest speaker sessions has been to offer information about the organisations themselves, how they function and operate, as well as global sustainable development.

Speakers have included: 

• Vera Mandic – Founder, CEO and Leadership Facilitator at BSpark’s Leadership Academy. 
• Noel Ortiz – VP Strategy and Communication at Curelator Inc. and Optimus Price.  
• Marta Aranega Gallart – Project Support Officer at the EUIPO
• Tracey Burns – Senior Analyst at OECD
• Shiva Roofeh – TedX speaker, focused on leadership development, cultural intelligence and diversity and inclusion. 

How are the guest speaker sessions beneficial?

Our guest speaker sessions not only educate and motivate, but offer a number of other benefits for students at ESEI. 

1. Expert knowledge

ESEI guest speakers are true experts in their industries. They join our students from some of the world’s most influential businesses, organisations and institutions. During these sessions, students have the opportunity to hear about real-life examples and anecdotes, enabling them to gain insider knowledge from thought-leaders working in their fields.

Students also get the chance to learn about future industry predictions and how leadership and governance is expected to evolve. This helps them to develop a forward-thinking perspective. And, most importantly, it helps them think outside the box. 

2. Networking opportunities

These sessions have allowed our students to connect with people who work with prestigious institutions and businesses. But above all, they offer the possibility for students to expand their professional networks. We often encourage students to chat with speakers in person if there’s time, and later connect with them on LinkedIn, Twitter or through email.  

Steve feels passionately about building a wider community outside of the classroom. He makes sure to stress to his students that “your career doesn’t start at the end of the programme, it’s already started while you’re studying.” And through the guest speaker sessions, students are able to begin forging a path to their future careers. 

3. The chance to ask questions 

Each guest talk has a feedback session at the end. This gives students a unique opportunity to interact with speakers directly, and delve deeper into the topics that piqued their interest most. We’ve had tons of Interesting conversations during these question sessions – as well as lots of breakthrough moments!

A spotlight on our guest talk with Shiva Roofeh

Shiva Roofeh is a facilitator, public speaker, trainer and educator in leadership development. Steve asked her to be one of the key guest speakers as a part of his Leadership and Organisational Behaviour course. 

According to Shiva, her aim is “to teach people how to see the why behind the what.” In her guest speaker session, she spoke about how the ideas of leadership from the “great men” theories of the 19th century have changed in our digitally connected world. 

The idea that leaders are still authority figures, she said, has now changed to something more democratic. Any leader’s central objective is to have their teams perform as best as they possibly can. Yet, in order to do this in the 21st-century world, leaders must take care of their team members. For Shiva, this represents a shift from control to care, and marks the future of leadership. 

Shiva also said that leaders must be aware of their mental programming and personal development. They must work on themselves and their own well-being, and gather the tools to understand what it means to care for oneself, before caring for and leading others.

You can watch Shiva’s full talk here.

Looking to be inspired and hear some of our guest speakers in action? Head over to our website and see what sessions, workshops and events you can attend – and learn more about our business programmes.