2022 MEG Team-Building Retreat
The last week of the spring semester break saw the MEG 17s enjoy a 2-day team-building workshop retreat, hosted at a seminar lodge out in the countryside.
Each MEG generation is provided with this team-building experience, which normally takes place after the Christmas break in the Winter Semester. Due to COVID-17 restrictions, the MEG 17 generation’s retreat was pushed forward to the end of the Winter Semester in order to enable an in-person experience.
While not all the cohort could attend, the majority were able to make the two days and benefitted from warm spring sunshine and blossoming flowers as they settled into their surroundings.
As per tradition, the team-building workshops were led by Programme Coordinator Esther Muschelknautz. However, this year Esther was joined by Carolina Moreno Hernández, a current PHD Researcher and MEG teaching assistant who brought additional positive energy and fresh perspectives to the students’ experience.
Over the course of the two days, the MEG 17s had the chance to:
- Flex their artistic skills by sketching out their personal metaphors describing the MEG experience so far
- Explore the roles they each gravitated towards in team projects and identify individual opportunities to grow
- Develop the skill of delivering feedback via intensive role play and group practice
- Take the lead in discussing how they could improve their communication, collaboration and overall experience as a cohort throughout the rest of the program
Across these four key areas, the intensive discussions and practical group work sessions were interspaced with energising (often balloon or blindfold-based) games.
Outside of the scheduled activities, the students benefitted from plenty of downtime to relax and reconnect with each other after the break. In their free time, the students enjoyed themselves with group pursuits including a countryside walk to watch the sunset, table tennis games, paddling in the stream and, of course, a spontaneous MEG dance party.
Equal parts challenging and enjoyable, the team-building workshop retreat created the opportunity for participants to honestly and openly engage with the group’s experience of the MEG program so far. New friendships were made, others were reinforced, but everyone came away with a better understanding of who we are on this journey with and how we can better support each other through the experience.
As the MEG 17s head into their Summer Semester, the lessons learned and happy memories of the team-building retreat have served as the perfect restart, setting us up for the months of learning ahead.
