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International Emerging Leaders Conference (IELC) Goes Virtual

10/2/2020

Collegiate School’s International Emerging Leaders Conference (IELC) is still happening in 2020!

The conference has gone fully virtual, and has been renamed IELCX2020, “The Global Economy and the Environment.” The conference runs from Saturday, Oct. 3 through Sunday, Oct. 11. Over 40 participants from eight of Collegiate’s partner schools are working together with the students from the IELC Senior Capstone Course to share their ideas, experiences, and solutions, in a setting of respect and collaborative learning. The participating countries are China, France, Ghana, Kazakhstan, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, and Spain.

Started in 2010, IELC is believed to be the first program of its kind hosted at an American school during the academic year. The conference fosters collaboration among students from around the world, teaches the design thinking process and seeks to acquaint bright minds with a problem-solving skill set valued worldwide.

During the week-long program, 56 high school students, representing nine schools from around the world will collaborate in small international teams on projects addressing an environmental challenge faced by their nations. Using aspects of IDEO’s and Stanford University’s Design Thinking Process, each team will work to devise a solution, taking it from idea to a design pitch.

Participants in IELCX2020 will hear from prominent scholars and business leaders who will share ideas and perspectives relevant to the conference theme “The Global Economy and the Environment.” They will also take part in a student-led Global Issue Forum focused on COVID-19.

IELCX2020 is a fully virtual conference. Two hours each day will be held synchronously. During this time students will participate in learning sessions about the design thinking process, will hear from guest speakers, and will work with each other to solve an environmental problem from a participating country. In addition, participants will supplement their experience asynchronously with additional videos and work in their home locations.

You may read about last year's conference here.

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