The Blavatnik School hosted HE President Irfaan Ali of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana along with former President Iván Duque of Colombia for an interactive case study session, moderated by Professor Karthik Ramanna.
During the session the students were encouraged to put themselves in the shoes of the President of Guyana and learn from his experiences as the leader of a country on the cusp of a major transformation.
In just a decade, the country has shifted from one of the lowest income nations in Latin America and the Caribbean to one of the world’s richest nations on a per-capita basis as Exxon discovered one of the largest offshore oil fields in the world just off its coastline. The students were tasked with considering sustainable management practices of this wealth whilst taking into account the interests of Guyana’s people and the planet.
For our incoming MPP students, this was an opportunity to experience first-hand from two heads of state, before even the first day of class, the value of critical thinking, empathy, and humility in public service.
Professor Karthik Ramanna
“Watching President Ali, former-President Duque and Professor Ramanna discuss models of governance and development completely openly with our students from all over the world was the best hour of learning and engagement I’ve seen in almost 40 years in Oxford”, reflected Professor Myles Allen, Head of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics in the Department of Physics, University of Oxford.
"It was an honour for me to have shared with President Ali and Professor Karthik the interaction with students and faculty about what Guyana means to the world today and the challenges it faces in accelerating its development process," said President Duque. "I believe that this type of interaction, between theory and practice, with a head of state enriches the mission of one of the world’s most important government schools."
Participants had the chance to put themselves in President Ali’s shoes to weigh up the numerous facets of a complicated situation and make an assessment on the best way forward.
President Ali reflected on students’ responses and shared insights from his own leadership experience, such as how to balance short-term and long-term goals. Former President Duque also added his learnings from his own tenure as a political leader, including how to understand policy objectives and the resources available to obtain them.
