Have you ever heard of a leadership camp where you are thrust into the wilderness with a bunch of people you have probably never met before and realised that this is in fact, the real hostile environment and that you can take on any corporate job with elan if you can manage to last in one such leadership camp?
This is precisely what Survival Instincts intends to do, through their Winter Leadership Camp which will be conducted in Kodaikanal between December 20 and 24.
Vasumathi Velappan, Training Manager at Survival Instincts and Camp Co-ordinator, explains that the purpose of the Winter Leadership Camp is to develop organisational, teamwork, problem-solving and leadership skills of participants.
“Students who make the transition from college-life to employment, especially those who opt for careers in the corporate world, often find themselves in an antagonistic environment that is characterised by cut-throat competition,” says Ms. Vasumathi. “Through such camps, we take in students, expose them to a more hostile environment that is the wilderness, and train them. We had conducted an Autumn Leadership Camp in October this year and it was a roaring success,” she adds.
Competition-based trainingPavithra Nuthakki, Training Manager at Survival Instincts, explains how the mode of training is competition-based. “The exercises include wilderness and urban problem-solving, complicated navigations, communicating under challenging environments, signalling, shelter-building, fire craft, and more,” she adds.
This is a leadership camp with a difference as participants are put through many challenging and competitive exercises. Participants are split into teams and put in groups where they have no prior introduction to one another. Once the teams are decided, the members have to work in harmony to complete all activities.
Participants who have emerged victorious and fulfilled all the requirements of the camp are felicitated at a ceremony attended by some of Chennai’s leading corporate houses. “There are four awards given for individual performance as well as one team award. The winners will also be given scholarships,” says Ms. Vasumathi.
Great expectationsSajira Khatoon, a second-year student of B.Sc Psychology from Women’s Christian College, says, “I got rave reviews about the camp when my friend attended it a couple of months ago. It got me completely intrigued and I have signed up for it this time. I am extremely excited at the prospect of meeting new people, mingling with them and I am looking forward to the first day of camp,” she says excitedly.
Sugirda Shivan, a second-year student of Electronic and Instrumentation Engineering from SRM University, explains how most of life’s real lessons are imbibed outside academic circles and that she is looking forward to the camp as she feels that she can develop her leadership and communication skills. Students between the ages of 18 and 25 can apply and will be selected on a first-come-first-served basis.
