The eighteenth (18th) Session of the “INSPIRE” Webinar Series, which the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies organized to guide engineering undergraduates on the topic “From Engineer to Leader: Build, Lead and Inspire” was successfully held via Zoom on 26th April 2025 from 7.00 PM to 8.30 PM with active participation of undergraduates of faculty. The resource person, Dr. (Mrs.) Elizabeth Ruiz, is a distinguished toastmaster. She is the current District Director of District 56, Toastmasters International. Dr. Ruiz has served in many leadership roles and led numerous successful programs including Speechcrafts and Youth Leadership Programs. Her commitment to excellence and service has earned her multiple district-level recognitions and the admiration of peers across the Toastmasters community.
She conducted the session in an interactive way. In the beginning she explained leadership with the passive participation of the audience. Leaders are always looking for others who want to become leaders and help, mentor and sponsor them. Also, she also highlighted the importance of finding mentors or sponsors to level up our careers. Then she explained the importance of soft skills to make our career successful. Emotional intelligence will be self-awareness, empathy and motivation was described as crucial. She explained that emotional intelligence drives teamwork, helps communication and build resilience. She said volunteering is the best opportunity to grow and is a safe place to develop our leadership skills. She encouraged everyone to get involved with volunteering to gain leadership experience and to build strong resumes. She explained three steps to manage disagreement in a team: identify the emotions involved, practice empathy and propose a resolution. She highlighted the difference between an engineering mindset and a leadership mindset: engineering are problem solvers, task focused while leaders are people developers, team motivators, and vision focused. She emphasized that successful engineers should cultivate both mindsets. She reminded us that leadership is a choice; influence happens through service and consistency and every small step will count. She shared valuable insights that are very important for us. Hence, it was a productive session for the students, allowing them to learn from an internationally respected leadership coach to drive their professional journeys toward success as future leaders. Six talented engineering undergraduates in 2nd year played the following role to make it a successful webinar.
Moderator: Sithumika Jayasiri & Irasha Senarathna.
Zoom Masters: Chamodi Jayakody.
Flyer Designs: Malith Wijayahilake
Content Writer: Irushi Sewmini
PR Manager: Anupama Thilina.
