MG408 The Graduate Challenge: Developing Essential Skills for University Success

This report discusses the challenges faced by a student in MG408 The Graduate Challenge and the skills they developed as a result. The challenges included a debate on Corporate Social Responsibility, a presentation on the worldwide share of the market and published results of TESCO, a T-shirt challenge, and a hotel challenge. The skills developed included communication, emotional intelligence, teamwork, time management, and meeting skills. The report also includes an action plan for further skill development and references to related studies.

Graduate Challenge

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................3
CHALLENGES..........................................................................................................................3
THE SKILLS.............................................................................................................................5
ACTION PLAN.........................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES...........................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
As being a student, I gained valuable knowledge from the institution's recent
struggles. A conversation, a presentation, a hotel challenge and T-shirt challenge, were
among the challenges. I'll go over each obstacle and the abilities I gained as a consequence of
accomplishing them in this report. On the other side, these obstacles aided me tremendously
in developing the required talents for university success. I fully participated in all chores and
assisted my co-workers as needed. Communication, self-confidence, problem-solving,
accepting criticism, facilitation, and listening are just a few of the major talents I've acquired.
My colleagues were also actively assisting me in developing my talents. In general, these
difficulties presented a wonderful chance for learning.
There were several things that I learned throughout the session that were crucial to my
growth as a person. To overcome these challenges, I had to use my critical thinking skills,
which helped me become more confident. Being involved in all of these difficulties, though,
has taught me a great deal more than I could have learned by myself. It was via these
activities that I learnt business and emotional intelligence, as well as spreadsheet abilities.
Using the skills and knowledge I've learned as a consequence of these challenges; I'll explain
each barrier in detail.
CHALLENGES
I chose Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a topic for the debate competition
since it is increasingly being used as a marketing technique. Because it's such a big subject
right now, it really was an enjoyable experience to debate it. My teammates were also crucial
in helping me obtain information and perform research on this topic. After this encounter, I
learnt a lot about corporate social responsibility. I didn't know much about CSR previously,
but my knowledge of it has increased since then. Furthermore, I learned that in order to
effectively argue an issue, we must present evidence when possible and set aside our own
opinions. As the debating challenge is the most important thing, I learned to have confidence
and believe in myself. Debate is a critical ability that has the potential to move us ahead in
life. Additionally, I learned how to speak more fluently, organise my ideas, and gather proof
to substantiate my assertions. I've grown in confidence and enhanced my ability to think on
my feet. I'm now capable of fast generating new concepts and clustering my words far more
accurately than I was before. Clearly, I also learned to evaluate the perspectives of others,

since it is vital to weigh the opposing position, as well as their thoughts and evidence, in a
discussion. I've gained essential life skills that are quite useful. As a result, all of these talents
developed through the debate task are necessary for a successful company.
Presentation Challenge With my partner, we presented a presentation on the
worldwide share of the market and published results of TESCO in the presentation
task (Pfeifer, 2017). It was a great experience to learn the skills I needed to do the
presentation in a professional manner. In the course of this project, I learned the value
of delivering clear and concise speech to a large group in front of them. This
presentation would not be possible without the contributions of each and every
individual of my group. We did a lot of study on this issue before creating an
educational, enthralling, and compelling presentation. Many additional traits, such as
leadership, storytelling, written or visual communications, emotional regulation,
hearing, adaptation, and self - knowledge, were sought in depicting this presentation.
It is critical in every business to establish a relationship with the audience and develop
needs and effective. In a similar way, I learnt how to build connection with my
audience and how to make them feel as if I were speaking directly to them. Another
vital talent to have is stress. Although giving a presentation may appear to be difficult,
the ability to manage tension and deliver under pressure when outside an assembly is
critical. I'm better at organising things now, and I've also improved my time
management skills. Furthermore, I realised that rather than just informing the
audience, presenters should excite them. A competent speaker, on the other hand,
should have data, examples, facts, and tales to back up the argument in his or her
speech (Roth, 2017).
T-shirt challenge: The T-shirt challenge required students to create a log that could
be published onto t-shirts and sweatshirts. Determine the demographics of our product's
intended audience. This project was a lot of fun for us to work on since it was something we
had never done before and was quite creative. Even though I was nervous, I learned a lot
from this experience that I can use to university and other endeavours. To name a few of the
skills and knowledge I gained from this project, I can now pay attention to details and think
creatively. This task taught me how to think like a customer, which helped us come up with
this logo. Second, I discovered that a well-designed t-shirt is not usually an indication of
excellent art. We had to make every shade count, both artistically and financially. Although
the t-shirts designed by my colleagues were fairly innovative, the most crucial factor in

winning the market is still their visual appeal. T-shirts should be displayed in an appropriate
way, with an eye-catching name. Never give up was the most important lesson I learned from
this ordeal (Germina, et. al., 2018).
Hotel Challenge: Despite its rapid growth, the hospitality industry provides a range
of skills that may be used everywhere. It is true that improving one's skills is an ongoing
process, but I feel that my communication skills have improved because I am now more
polite and modest when I talk. Listening is the most important part of effective
communication (Sousa, 2018). As a consequence, I've developed a kind demeanour while
speaking to others. Multitasking was one of the skills I learned throughout this assignment.
Some of the other skills I've learned from my colleagues are adaptability, cultural
awareness, attention to detail, initiative and resilience. Since I've already experienced a
number of positive changes in my personality as a result of this assignment, I'm certain that
I'll benefit much from whatever knowledge I get from it. When it comes to accomplishing
any goal or obstacle, teamwork is also essential. The task may seem to be simple if you have
a good leader. These talents have been utilised and are supporting me in a positive way
(Batchelor, et. al., 2020).
THE SKILLS
At this time, I was able to display all of my abilities that were required for these
activities to be completed successfully. To sum up, I emphasised the importance of
communication and interpersonal skills; emotional intelligence; teamwork; time
management; and meeting skills. With my co-workers, I was able to accomplish all of these
duties since I paid much attention to their needs and offered my own thoughts and ideas.
Furthermore, I was able to recognise and manage my own emotions while delivering the
presentation, which helped me to remain calm and communicate effectively. I was able to
accomplish all of these goals by providing clear directions and encouraging my peers to think
outside the box. I was a strong ally to my co-workers and myself when we had divergent
opinions. By outlining and prioritising the tasks, I was also able to finish them on schedule.
My job was to handle finances and marketing and sales for the t-shirt challenge. A lot of
individuals have benefited from my assistance (Boetje and Ginkel, 2020).

ACTION PLAN
As a result of these problems, I gained a wealth of knowledge that will help in the
future and the present. However, I still need to work on a few areas within next three years.
Stage fear hasn't gone away for me. It's possible I might have done a better job of making my
presentation more helpful and educational, even if I think it was excellent. The more
theatrical performances I make, the more time I'll have to invest into practising. I'll work on
my self-confidence and communication skills. As a result of these hurdles, I plan on
participating in all of the school's extracurricular activities. (Chaudhari and Pasricha, 2017).
CONCLUSION
In this report, I describe how the obstacles I had at work helped me develop new
skills. To my benefit, the problems I had were a great opportunity to learn new skills and
improve my candidacy. There was a tremendous deal of enthusiasm for the tasks at hand. In
order to grow as a person, we must take risks that we are apprehensive about. In spite of the
fact that perfection is impossible, there are many lessons to be learned via diverse activities.

REFERENCES
Batchelor, R., Catanzano, M., Kerry, E., Bennett, S.D., Coughtrey, A.E., Liang, H., Curry,
V., Heyman, I. and Shafran, R., 2020. Debate: Lessons learned in lockdown–a one‐
day remotely delivered training on low‐intensity psychological interventions for
common mental health conditions. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 25(3),
pp.175-177.
Boetje, J. and van Ginkel, S., 2020. The added benefit of an extra practice session in virtual
reality on the development of presentation skills: A randomized control trial. Journal
of Computer Assisted Learning.
Chaudhari, S. and Pasricha, A., 2017. Strength based approach to leadership skills
development: Role of awareness; alignment; action. Bimaquest, 17(2).
Germina, A., Lantin, M. and Parado, W., 2018. Skills in the Hotel and Restaurant Workplace:
Millennials’ Self Assessment. Laguna Journal of International Tourism and
Hospitality Management, 4(1), pp.15-29.
Pfeifer, J., 2017. “Trained for Which Job Exactly?”–Assessing the Impact of Access to
Informal Digital Skills Education on Employment Opportunities for Marginalized
Youth in Nairobi. Education for Life in Africa, p.16.
Roth, L.L., 2017. What Traits are Learned?: Determining the Levels of Argumentativeness
and Verbal Aggressiveness in Competitive Parliamentary Debate.
Sousa, M.J., 2018. Entrepreneurship skills development in higher education courses for teams
leaders. Administrative Sciences, 8(2), p.18.