I wanted something just like this (Coldplay)

19 Dezembro 2017

Christoph Schlieker, December 19, 2017

When I look back at the last 6 months: I have to say that, during the application phase, virtual phase, F2F program and now,  I have made an extreme leap regarding my personality development. The Global Shapers program provided me with a healthy self-reflection that showed me my pitfalls, but more importantly my strengths that have made me more self-confident.

Curiosity

I did not know what to expect of the Global Shapers program. Former Global Shapers reported on a program that involves: project work in a large international community, challenging work, international networking, cooperation and a lot of fun – all of which was given to me on the way. The spirit of what my colleagues meant by that was evident during the application phase. It was impressive to see how many different ideas this generation had on the subject of “Sustainability for impact – Digital solutions to improve quality of life!” I was very cheerful, happy and proud to have been chosen to participate in the Global Shapers Program 2017.

Introductory phase: virtually! 

The virtual phase already presented the several wonderful employees we have distributed across the globe. We got to know each other, found commonalities in addition to the differences in the cultures and developed ideas as well as solutions together during the virtual phase. Time flew by and suddenly the Face-to-Face program was just around the corner.

Community

Being open minded, friendly, extroverted, courageous and many other qualities are served in one fell swoop. During the face-to-face program fear, unease, the unknown – all these fears were gone after the first contact. In just a few hours, a dynamic developed within the groups and the program, which made it possible to work quickly in a professional manner. Everything was perfectly organized so that we could let our thoughts run freely. The close cooperation between different cultures and specialist knowledge in addition to the support of the leadership showed an excellent result at the end.

Ripple effect

The experiences, conversations, feelings and friendships will be eternal. The good cooperation and connections will also continue. Every day I receive new WhatsApp messages in the Global Shapers groups in Digital, Sustainability, Culture and Future Perspective from all over the world. International cooperation is becoming increasingly important, especially for the Millennials.

To all young Arcadis employees, take advantage of this unique opportunity offered by the Lovinklaan Foundation and Arcadis.

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