Lead with Confidence and Inspire with Innovation

Acquiring leadership skills and entrepreneurial acumen is a dynamic and rewarding journey that demands dedication and perseverance. The Graduate College and our partners can help you cultivate your leadership abilities, foster innovative thinking, and launch successful ventures.

Our graduate students and postdoctoral scholars are developing extremely strong expertise in their disciplines. Yet the challenges our society is facing require more than just expertise, these challenges require a new generation of leaders who can build collaborations, work across disciplines, and forge stronger solutions from various perspectives. The Graduate College Emerging Leadership Academy (GC-ELA) is committed to developing these skills in our most promising graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. 

GC-ELA focuses on: leadership research, theory, and practice; ethics; collaboration and teamwork; effects of gender and diversity issues on work teams; and communication. The program culminates in a semester-long mentoring experience for each participant with a current Iowa State leader.

Each academic year we gather a cohort of approximately 20 young leaders. We are seeking leaders with broad career aspirations in industry, government, NGO, entrepreneurship, and academia.

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"In GC-ELA, I have engaged in a different type of learning than any experienced as an academic thus far. In GC-ELA, I've learned about how I lead and interact with people. The meetings prompted self-reflection and thought-provoking discussions and activities regarding leadership styles. I already feel like a more well-rounded individual, both professionally and personally."

"I started this program thinking I have at least a basic idea about what leadership means. During the short period of time I was involved in GC-ELA proved how little I actually knew about being a true leader, and what leadership really means. I have learned more about myself, my leadership style, what strengths I bring in to a team environment, what are my weakness, how to overcome them. This program changed the way I view things in general. I learned about team building, communication, and the importance of being a culturally competent leader in the modern society. It was a delight to hear from the experts from different fields how they tackle problems, what makes them more successful, and what qualities we need to cultivate as future leaders."

The Graduate Engagement Leadership Committee (GELC) consists of nominated graduate students who plan and lead Grad Mixer Wednesday events. They serve as ambassadors and liaisons for graduate student peers in their academic colleges.

Responsibilities:

• Organize and facilitate interdisciplinary and interorganization themed events for the Grad Mixer Wednesdays
• Invest about 1 hour per week for planning and 2-3 hours for special event days
• Create a vibrant, inclusive, and connected graduate community

Benefits:

• Gain leadership skills
• Develop event/project planning skills
• Connect with community
• Grow network

Who can be nominated: 

• On-campus graduate students who have completed at least one semester at ISU

Who can nominate:

• Any graduate faculty (does not have to be the major professor), Director of Graduate Education (DOGE), department chair, program staff, or mentoring postdoc. Complete the nomination form.
• Students looking to be nominated can reach out to any faculty, staff, or postdoc they work with to get nominated. The faculty nominator does not have to be a major professor.

More Testimonials

Serving on the GELC was a great opportunity to expand my skills and profile. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is an expansive field that covers so many different majors, and I had a chance to interact with many of them. It was also a great experience to get more administrative experience, especially for projects that I might work on in the future as a professor. ~ Chris Litten, PhD Student in Applied Linguistics and Technology, GELC for College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

As someone passionate about guiding students, GELC offered a chance to lead in new ways. One of the most exciting and formative moments for me was the opportunity to moderate a panel of experienced leaders in academia. It’s not an opportunity you encounter every day. I learned that leadership isn’t just about guiding others, it’s about growing yourself. It challenged me to step outside my comfort zone and grow as a leader. ~ Zarina Wafula, School of Education, GELC for College of Health and Human Sciences

GELC was a great opportunity to meet other graduate students and leaders from across campus. It allowed us to shape the programming based on the needs we have within our respective colleges. We were able to bring in interdisciplinary subjects and speakers that mattered to us as graduate students, as well as practice project management skills. ~ Tia Blansett, GELC for College of Engineering

The Graduate College promotes the ISU I-Corps program in collaboration with the Office of the Vice President for Research and the Office of Economic Development and Industry Relations.

I-Corps is a National Science Foundation-funded program designed to increase the impact of federally funded research though training academic scientists and engineers to extend their focus beyond the laboratory and to understand the potential value of their technology and inventions, by teaching them how to assess the market opportunity for new technology and commercial potential. This program provides a set of skills and entrepreneurial knowledge that can be applied to any career path. 

Iowa State University is a member of the Great Lakes Region I-Corps Hub. ISU’s local I-Corps provide working knowledge of how to think about innovation ideas from a business and customer perspective, as well as how to properly conduct customer discovery interviews--the first step in any commercialization process. Regional I-Corps are also available to help explore the commercial viability of technology-based innovation ideas. 

Teams that complete the local or regional I-Corps may become eligible to participate in the prestigious National I-Corps Teams program. 

Graduate students and postdocs can participate as entrepreneurial lead.

I-Corps Entrepreneurial Student Leads

Develop fundamental skills vital for any leader, no matter the academic institution, industry, or company.

Skills for leading others: People management, task delegation, coaching ability, advocacy, interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence.

Skills for leading organization: Project planning and management, social intelligence, problem-solving, decision-making, conflict management, change management, innovation, entrepreneurship.

Skills for leading self: Self-management, domain expertise, personal professional development, agility, courage, organizational citizenship behavior.