This year’s Saltire Fellowship Leadership Development programme starts with a mix of personal development and expert insights into entrepreneurial strategy

Entrepreneurial Scotland’s Saltire Fellowship Leadership Development programme has kicked off, leading with this year’s Fellows taking part in a range of personal development and entrepreneurial challenges.

Now in its ninth year, the Entrepreneurial Scotland Saltire Fellowship Leadership Development programme is an ambitious programme that can transform the careers of the individuals who take part and the organisations they work with.

This year’s cohort will spend six weeks at Babson College in Boston, the world’s number one school for entrepreneurship. In addition to this, they will spend two weeks in Silicon Valley and San Francisco surrounded by some of the most innovative business minds the world has to offer. All of this, topped off by a twelve week project in Scotland and five two-day entrepreneur-led Masterclasses.

It is also the second year of the programme’s partnership with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), where the Fellows will be working on a marine plastics projectThe Sustainable Growth Agreement, which focuses on creating further environmental and social change across Scotland, is at the core of the project. The group is striving to improve environmental sustainability by tackling the global issue of plastics during their Fellowship journey.

This year’s programme was opened by Entrepreneurial Scotland Chairman, Chris van der Kuyl, who focused on methods to consistently improve leadership development in Scotland.

Emphasising the importance of leadership development in the country to Entrepreneurial Scotland’s overall strategy, the Fellows were encouraged to embrace creative thinking and adaptive decision-making in their contribution to making Scotland the most entrepreneurial country in the world.

The group also had the opportunity to learn from Marcus Wylie of Dundee-based Insights, a long standing partner of Entrepreneurial Scotland, on effective communication methods both personally and professionally.

Robbie Rapson, one of this year’s Fellows who works in the tourism industry, said this about his plans and expectations: “Getting the opportunity to study at the best school for entrepreneurship in the world is an absolutely fantastic opportunity. The tourism industry in Scotland continues to grow, and going on this course will help me think entrepreneurially about how to turn it into a world class destination for visitors in the future.”

This year’s programme has some exciting additions which look set to make the Fellowship experience bigger and better. For the first time, an international Fellow from Brazil has joined the programme alongside its Scottish-based group. This exciting addition is set to bring another fantastic global perspective to the table.

Another new addition to the schedule this year is opening up the Fellowship to Scottish companies who want to participate in experiential learning for a shorter period for two one-week learning journeys – one being at Babson College and the other in Silicon Valley, taking part in company visits and entrepreneurial challenges.

For more information about the Saltire Fellowship Leadership Development programme or hosting a Fellow in 2019/20 please contact info@entrepreneurialscotland.com.