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Student Leadership Training - Ideas for Your Sections

If your looking for something new to bring your SWE Student Section then take a look at the activities below. All of these activities have been brainstormed by other student sections across the nation. You can contact your student leadership coach for more information on any of these activities.

    Icebreakers
    • Tennis Ball Toss
    • Two Truths And A Lie
    • Table Topics

    Fundraisers
    • Evening with Industry
    • Corporate Sponsorships
    • Local Sponsorships
    • University Student Government

    Outreach
    • Hands-on experiments at High schools or Middle schools
    • Tutoring
    • Badge Day with Girl Scouts
    • Career Day (Shadow and Engineer)
    • Science and Engineering Summer Camps
    • Volunteer at community centers

    Diversity
    • Joint activities with other societies
    • Speakers or Panel
    • Award

    Professional Development
    • Resume & Interviewing Workshops
    • Attend National & Regional Conference
    • Technical Tours
    • Meet your Major
    • Social With Your Professional Section

    Links to More Information

Icebreakers

  • Tennis Ball Toss
    Have group stand in a circle preferably away from seating area. The leader of the game begins by tossing a tennis ball to another person in the circle. Once a person in the circle recieves the ball he/she raises her hand and passes the tennis ball on to another person without their hand up. Remember the person who passes and whom passed you the ball. The last person to recieve the ball returns it to the game leader. The leader will then start a tennis ball along the defined path. Add additional tennis balls as appropriate. Additional things to try:
    1. As your group gets better tossing and receiving the ball, start a different colored ball in the opposite direction.
    2. Say the name of the person you are tossing the ball to in order to get their attention and learn the names of everyone in the group.

  • Two Truths And A Lie
    Every person tells two truths and one lie about themself. The group then decides which is the lie.

  • Table Topics
    Pass out index cards with the begining of sentences on them. (I.e. The best place in the world to live is..., My biggest fear is...) Have everyone complete their sentence and then return their cards. Redistribute the cards (make sure that no one gets their orginal card). Go around the room and have everyone read their index card and then spend a minute explaining what they mean.


    Fundraisers

  • Evening with Industry
    Invite local corporations to buy tables at a formal dinner. Students are invited to attend the dinner and interact with companies (you can give your SWE members a discount). You can also sell a Resume Book along with this event.

  • Corporate Sponsorships
    Work with your local professional section to send out a corporate support packet every fall.

  • Local Sponsorships
    Ask for sponsorships from local companies. Gift certificates are good for speaker thank yous as well as member rewards. Just because a local business is not a major coporation does not mean that they are not interested in supporting your student section. But make sure you ask these businesses in person.

  • University Student Government
    Every year student governments across the nation provide funding for SWE student sections. Talk to your faculty advisor for more information.

  • Other General Activities:
    There are many other kinds of activities that your section can do including: Bake sales, car washes, gift wrapping during the holidays, Valentine's Day Flowergrams, and many more!


    Outreach

  • Hands-on experiments at High schools or Middle schools
    There are pre-packaged science experiments at most schools which science teachers can provide for you. These experiments demonstrate the fun and excitement of science and engineering for students.

  • Tutoring
    Provide your local schools with people to help students study. Explaining the scientific and engineering design processes will help you to demonstrate the fun of science and engineering. Also you will be introducing the students you work with to SWE.

  • Badge Day with Girl Scouts
    Contact your local Girl Scout Council for information on developing a badge day to share with local girl scout troops.

  • Career Day (Shadow and Engineer)
    Bring a high school student with you to class one day. Let them see what engineering labs and classes are like.

  • Science and Engineering Summer Camps
    Hold a day long camp during the summer with science and engineering demonstrations. Make sure you target your demonstrations to the educational level of the students you invite.

  • Volunteer at community centers
    There are many opportunities in your community to volunteer your engineering service or just some manual labor.


    Diversity

  • Joint activities with other societies
    Leveraging other societies such as SHPE or NSBE for help with major activities such as Evening and Industry or Girl Scout Badge Days will help you provide more value for your members and community.

  • Speakers or Panel
    There are two aspects to this activity. The first is developing a committee to provide your student section with feedback about your diversity activities and leadership development. The second is a speaker or pannel to discuss diversity issues facing corporations and engineers today.

  • Award
    Give an award to the section member which demonstrates the values & principals of diversity throughout the year.


    Professional Development

  • Resume & Interviewing Workshops
    Your local professionals can help you with this acitvity.

  • Attend National & Regional Conference
    There are many workshops and seminars at both conferences which will help you to develop professional skills. Make sure to take advantage of these opportunities.

  • Technical Tours
    Your local corporations are always interested in bringing in students to show off their facilities and people. Contact their human resources department or your local professional section for more information.

  • Meet your Major
    At the begining of every semester hold a social and introduce freshman engineering majors to their upperclassmen counterparts and professors. The upperclassmen can provide a valuable resource for what classes to take, how to get involved in SWE, or just how to get around on campus.

  • Social With Your Professional Section
    Your local professional section is the best possible resource available to you. The section can provide speakers, information on current industy conditions, and contacts for where to send your resumes.


    Links to More Information

  • Volunteer Library - Documents activities implemented at profesional and student sections throughout the society.
  • Program Development Grant Reports - Take a look at these innovative programs funded by SWE.
  • Career Guidance Committee - Take a look at the career guidance committee's webpage for outreach activities.
  • Membership - Check out the Membership committee's best practices and newsletters.
  • Professional Development Committee - Check out the idea book.
  • 2002 Student Leadership Lunch Idea Exchange - Student section best practices.


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    Last Updated: 3/26/2004