From resilience to responsibility. Business Leadership students set sail into their second year

The second year of NEWTON’s Business Leadership specialisation began by setting sail. From 19 to 26 September, students swapped lecture theatres for yachts and travelled to Greece for the Sea Challenge. After a first year devoted to self-awareness, psychological resilience and personal leadership, they embarked on the next stage of their development. Its central theme is responsibility.

When a yacht becomes a leadership classroom

The Sea Challenge is an intensive experiential learning programme at sea. Under the guidance of experienced skippers, students learnt to sail, look after their boats, navigate without digital technology and, above all, work together in changing conditions.

The programme also had a reflective dimension. Drawing on the legacy of the ancient Greeks, students explored stories and questions that remain relevant centuries later, prompting them to reflect on their own lives and their approach to leadership.

A yacht offers a revealing metaphor for a well-functioning organisation. Every crew member has a role, everyone’s actions affect others, and the shared outcome depends on communication, trust and responsibility. The Sea Challenge marked the beginning of the second year while also offering an opportunity to look back on how far the students had already come.

The first year: Understanding yourself before leading others

The Business Leadership specialisation is founded on the belief that the ability to lead others begins with understanding yourself. The first year therefore focused on resilience: psychological strength and the ability to respond constructively to change, uncertainty and challenging situations.

Students took part in experiential training designed to move them beyond their comfort zones. The aim was to help them understand their reactions, limits and inner resources in situations for which no amount of preparation can fully equip them.

These experiences helped students recognise that resilience means being able to regain your balance and act when circumstances are less than ideal, even after moments of doubt.

Structured personal reflection was an important part of the year. Using the Business Leadership Journal, students recorded their experiences, insights and changes in their thinking. They learnt to distinguish between what had actually happened and their interpretation of it.

They then drew on these insights in two essays on personal development, one each semester. The purpose was to move beyond describing the activities they had completed, understand what those experiences meant for their own lives, identify their progress and set out concrete steps for further development.

Learning leadership through action

Alongside developing self-awareness, students had plenty of opportunities to test their ideas against reality.

A panel discussion entitled Connecting Study and Life: Innovate or Become Obsolete explored change, adaptability and the ability to shape your own path.

Another important experience was attending the NEWTON Business Summit, a major networking event held in both Prague and Brno that brings together students, alumni and professionals. Students met inspiring people working in psychology, leadership, marketing and contemporary management, heard their experiences and stories, and made new professional connections. The Summit also gave them a sense of belonging to the NEWTON Family community. It showed them how building professional relationships, exchanging experiences and learning from one another form a natural part of personal and professional development.

During a visit to Zlín, students explored the Baťa legacy and reflected on the different kinds of drive that founders and managers bring to an organisation, as well as the role of values, enterprise and responsibility. The visit also raised a personal question: what energy and attitude does each of us bring to our own work?

A particularly memorable experience was a 24-hour hackathon on the theme of “The University in 2036”. Working in teams, students developed a vision for the future of higher education. They had to work with information, develop solutions, allocate roles and take a shared project through to a final presentation. Their proposals were then assessed by a panel of industry experts.

The hackathon revealed something essential. Leadership requires more than a good idea. It also calls for the ability to manage yourself, communicate respectfully, accept feedback and remain constructive under pressure.

The Ambassadorship initiative also became an important part of the programme, offering students a supportive environment in which to consciously develop their professional identity. They learn to articulate their views, present ideas, expand their networks and gradually build their professional reputation. The emphasis is on finding the confidence to be visible as themselves, naturally and authentically, without feeling that they have to be perfect.

Business Leadership Forum: Turning experience into personal growth

We brought the first year to a close with the Business Leadership Forum. Both a celebration and a working session, it marked the culmination of the year’s journey. Students had the opportunity to pause, reflect on their experiences and present their work, with a particular emphasis on what they had learnt about themselves.

This was where the value of connecting the different activities became clear. Training sessions, team projects, professional encounters and personal reflection came together as parts of a coherent story of personal development. Students began to recognise the changes taking place in themselves.

What I observed in our students during their first year

As the programme’s academic lead and a guide throughout their studies, I had the opportunity to observe the students in many different situations. Their gradual personal growth has been one of the most rewarding aspects of the entire first year for me.

During the hackathon, I was struck by their commitment, energy and the responsibility with which they approached the shared task. Although they were only at the beginning of their studies, they showed reliability, an ability to collaborate and an intrinsic motivation to produce work of a high standard.

Their progress was even more apparent at the Business Leadership Forum. Students reflected on their experiences openly and with remarkable maturity. I saw them gradually move from uncertainty towards greater confidence, from waiting for instructions to taking the initiative, and from fearing failure to being willing to try something new.

What struck me most was the depth of their insights. Some felt like genuine turning points. They reflected a change in how students thought about themselves, other people and their own place in the world.

For me, this is the true purpose of the Business Leadership specialisation. Alongside acquiring knowledge and management skills, students gradually develop into individuals who can think independently, act deliberately and take responsibility for themselves and their influence on others.

The first year helped students better understand who they are, what shapes them and what they can draw strength from. The second year opens up another, equally important question: What will I do with this understanding, and what responsibility am I prepared to take on?

Because real leadership begins with a person’s attitude towards themselves, towards others and towards what they create through their actions, long before any position or title.