The 6th Student Leadership Conference in Review

At Dulwich, we nurture our students to become leaders who can inspire, lead, and make a positive difference in the world. And, in today’s ever-changing world, it is imperative that our student leaders are equipped with a skillset that enables them to be flexible, adaptable, and unite the people around them.

Founded by an alumnus from Dulwich College Beijing, the annual Student Leadership Conference is held in January and has been one of our flagship Worldwise Events for years. Students from across the Dulwich College International family of schools and the founding school of Dulwich College in London come together for a unique 3-day event, engaging in workshops, keynotes, and seminars to enhance their capacity as leaders who can make a positive difference in the world. 

The leadership work then continues throughout the rest of the academic year with monthly sessions and workshops, enabling students to further embed what they have learned into practice.

The conference’s scale and influence have grown massively since its inception and has successfully adjusted to the online world for the last two years – though we hope to start hosting in-person events soon!

The most recent Student Leadership Conference, held in January 2022, marked its sixth year. Held online, the conference was joined by over 40 senior school student leaders from across 12 schools and colleges, including Dulwich College in London, our Dehong sister schools, and Green School Bali, under the theme Time to Lead. The format has changed to an intense and immersive two-day online conference co-facilitated by Dulwich teachers; d’Arcy Lunn, the Group Head of Sustainability and Global Citizenship from EiM; and JUMP! Foundation, a leading educational organisation that delivers innovative learning experiences across the globe.

On three later occasions throughout the academic year, our student leaders built their community, shared ideas, and created change in their individual schools and collectively. Teachers supporting the students in their leadership journey have also collaborated to develop relevant frameworks making the leadership programme even more impactful.

What stood out to you about this event?

The similarities between the problems faced between student leaders of different schools and the unique differences that each group possessed when it came around to resolving those issues. It was great to benefit from the myriad of creativity within the group.

The Student Leadership Conference and follow-up sessions provide our students an invaluable opportunity to engage with peers across different countries, environments, and cultural contexts. They create meaningful, collaborative, and impact-driven connections to learn and share ideas and actions for positive change in their school and community. This programme is not only a highlight for those students at that time, but for them to carry these skills and connections with them into the future and benefit their schools in their term as senior student leaders and beyond.

What stood out to you about this event?

Getting to talk to other leaders from other schools and hearing different opinions (especially in breakout rooms) and peer-to-peer conversations.

Each year a lot of attention is paid to intention, to ensure our students are engaging in the most relevant and meaningful topics while also upskilling their global understanding and how they can make an impact locally and globally. We aim to define leadership in its broader sense of lifelong active citizenship and community participation.

It is a joy and privilege to watch the next generation step out onto the leadership stage, and we are eager for the next Student Leadership Conference in January 2023!