From Oct. 5 to 8, students will be able to participate in NYU’s inaugural Leadership Week from, a series of events held in order to foster creativity and educate attendees about the opportunities that can be found in daily challenges. The four days of presentations and workshops will aim to connect students with leaders in their respective fields.

The creators of Leadership Week, NYU’s Leadership Initiative, hope to inspire the next generation of students to exercise ethical leadership and collaboration. Bethany Godsoe, Assistant Vice President for Student Leadership Initiatives, explained the impact she hopes Leadership Week will have on students.

“We created NYU Leadership Week to raise awareness of the importance of leadership development and to open access to learning opportunities to students across the university,” Godsoe said. “We want to demonstrate that leadership is something we can all exercise, that it is a daily practice rather than something left for those with formal titles and positions of power.”

Because this is NYU’s first Leadership Week, there is much anticipation from students. Steinhardt junior Hediya Sizar expressed her interest in attending the presentations offered.

“I think Leadership Week is a great opportunity for students across NYU to be inspired and recognize that they all can be inclusive leaders in their communities,” Sizar said. “I am excited to see how the week unfolds since there will be great speakers and enriching workshops that students will benefit from.”

The first day will kick off with the Dean Low presentation. Dean Peter Henry of the Stern School of Business, one of the speakers at the event, said that NYU is the best place for the presentation to be taking place.

“Our halls are filled with the next generation of leaders — talented, collaborative, creative individuals who will use their education to harness change and create value for their society,” Henry said. “NYU’s rich diversity of culture and thought is the ideal leadership training ground, for it is the ability to step outside yourself and see things from another person’s perspective that is one of the greatest leadership skills one can possess.”

Another event taking place on Thursday is Design Thinking Crashcourse with Professor Anne-Laure Fayard of the Polytechnic School of Engineering. The workshop will adopt a hands-on approach in encouraging students to think innovatively. Fayard, who has previously worked with the Leadership Initiative, hopes the workshop will better equip students to take on challenges.

“My hope is that students will come out realizing that there are different ways to approach problem-solving than the ones they tend to be traditionally exposed to,” Fayard said. “To understand the importance of empathy and be passionate about human-centered design and be ready to apply it in their projects and in their lives.”

Godsoe and the Leadership Initiative hope to make Leadership Week an annual occurrence, as the events may offer invaluable learning experiences for NYU students.

“We want to build on what happens this year to reach more and more people across the University,” Godsoe said. “We hope each person who participates in a Leadership Week workshop or event walks away with new knowledge and skills s/he can put to use immediately.”

A version of this article appeared in the Oct 5 print edition. Email Alice Zhang at [email protected].