I started the IET Leadership Programme in March 2018, along with many other participants from different universities and professional fields. The Leadership Programme aims to help participants develop their leadership and project management skills, and for me it truly did. The program requires participants to execute the allocated project with the help of carefully designed workshops and experienced mentors. There were a total of 6 workshops which focused on personality types, project management, developing and leading successful teams, interviews, transition from university to full-time employment, and project presentations. Each workshop was unique in its own way. I learnt a lot in these workshops since each was more of an interactive session than a typical lecture. People were always there to guide us, whether it be about projects, university studies, developing key skills, or about increasing our employability. Our mentors would draw from their own experiences, to advise and motivate us.


In the first workshop, the participants used the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to find their personality types. Interestingly it was not just an activity – in fact, our mentors used that information to form teams. Teams were created with every member having different personality type. This helped every member to develop the skills they lacked and to improve on the ones they already possessed when it came to interacting with other people. During the second workshop, we were introduced to our teams and projects. I was part of an amazing team of 5, and we were responsible for executing the Canstruction 2018 Project.


Canstruction was an interesting project, but it also came with its own challenges. The project required us to build a structure made out of food cans (which were later donated to charity), with the goal of creating awareness about food insecurity in Australia, and spreading the word of the IET to young future engineers. There were several aspects of the project that we had to work on, such as selecting a feasible structure, designing the structure, securing sufficient sponsorship to execute the design, sourcing the food cans, and finding a suitable venue. To ensure we stayed on track and made steady progress, we had weekly meetings on Saturdays where we all came together to report on our progress and discuss issues. Ben Arazo (our mentor) provided us with invaluable support in the preparation and execution of our project. The main issue we faced as a team was insufficient sponsorship amounts and delays in potential sponsor responses. Uncertainty with the money caused problems associated with structure designs and venue bookings but we tackled all the challenges as a strong team. We were able to successfully build a “Quokka” structure made out of food cans and donated all the cans (about 560 kg of food) to Foodbank.


I was personally responsible for finding and booking a suitable venue, securing sponsors, and handling the storage and logistics of transporting the food cans. I was able to secure our major sponsor Innovation Central Perth (ICP), which was a breakthrough for our project since it helped us to get a clearer picture of our design (Quokka) and execution procedures. I was also involved in booking The Hexagon at Curtin University as our project venue. Moreover, I liaised with Curtin Guild to arrange a storage location for the food cans. I feel very happy and proud of my achievements and contributions to this project. I am grateful for this experience since it helped me to grow personally and professionally. This program has helped me to become a better leader, communicator, and a passionate engineer. I am thankful for all the amazing people I have met and the relationships I built. I look forward to working as a mentor in the upcoming 2019 Leadership Programme and help others to utilise this opportunity fully.


- Umar Khan