LSE Laidlaw Scholars Leadership and Research Programme

In the first year, you will complete a fully-funded six-week immersive Leadership-in-Action project which will take place in summer between your first and second year of study (typically between late June and end of August, after your summer exams). This work-based learning placement (full-time) will allow you to gain valuable experience and develop relevant leadership skills beyond your programme of study. The project you will be working on will focus on work with a community in need and will take you out of your comfort zone. Appropriate work placements will be provided either by LSE Careers or by the Laidlaw Foundation.

This is what some Laidlaw Scholars from the Class of 2023 said about their experience:

"I have had such an unforgettable experience working these past 6 weeks. I have been able to achieve so much such as helping manage the social media pages at Lattitude festival; learning about how to write a grant letter and create a log frame for a new project. I have always been interested in working in the non-profit/charity sector – this internship has solidified that.”

– Amirah Deji-Abiola (LSE Laidlaw Scholar, Class of 2023) with Child.org in Bristol, UK

"Working at the Commission has been transformative for me: I never thought I could enjoy work so much! I've met amazing people, built close relationships with some, and really enjoyed my time in Brussels. I'm very grateful for all of it.”

– Eugenia Brotons-Batista (LSE Laidlaw Scholar, Class of 2023) with the EU Commission in Brussels, Belgium

In the second year, you will conduct a fully-funded six-week interdisciplinary group research project that will explore one specific aspect of leadership. This project will take place in summer between your second and third year of study and you will have a supervisor to support you and your peers. You will gain first-hand research experience while deepening your knowledge and reflection in the field of leadership. Working in a team with other Laidlaw Scholars towards a shared goal, you will also further develop your collaborative leadership skills.

As part of your application, you will have to answer three questions (more details about the questions, please see step 2). To answer these questions, you will be able to choose one format from the following three options – you can either submit:

• A text-based application (maximum of 900 words overall and no more than 300 words for each question); or
• A poster that combines text and visual elements (maximum of 600 words); or
• A video (maximum length: 5 minutes)

Please note that all formats are valued equally and we do not prefer any format over another. The reason we provide a choice of different formats is to give you an opportunity to pick the format that suits you best to share your thoughts and reflections.

If you choose to submit a poster or video, you will have to provide a link to the file. Please see here how to save your document and create a link. 

In your application, you will have to answer three questions which are centred around the topic of leadership. Please read the questions and the guidance carefully as it explains to you in detail what we are looking for.

Question 1: What does leadership mean to you?

Guidance: In this question, we would like to learn more about your own understanding of leadership, and why and how you have arrived at that understanding. We will value answers that show that you have critically reflected upon your understanding of leadership; you may draw, for example, on a personal observation, a personal experience, or another source of inspiration to explain your reflections if you find this useful. What we are not interested in is encyclopaedic knowledge or standard definitions of leadership without your own critical reflections.

Question 2: 

Please choose two (from the list of eight) competencies from the Laidlaw Scholar Attributes Framework that you wish to develop through this programme. Explain for each competency separately:  

(a) Why did you choose this competency  

(b) how will developing this competency help you in your own personal development? 

Guidance: the LSE Laidlaw Scholar Leadership and Research Programme is based on the Laidlaw Scholar Attributes Framework (see link above), a set of eight competencies that are relevant to leadership and research roles. In this question, we would like you to pick two specific competencies that you would like to develop through this programme and to share with us how they will help you on your leadership journey.

Question 3: In what ways will you contribute to this learning community?

Guidance: Our aim is to build a dedicated learning community where a diversity of ideas, experiences, views, and backgrounds are valued and where scholars are comfortable to share their views and can learn from each other. With this question we would like to invite you to share more about yourself and we will value answers that show that you have reflected on how – for example, by drawing on your own and personal ideas, experiences, views, and background – you would like to specifically contribute to the learning community of the LSE Laidlaw Scholars.

Your application will be evaluated using the following three criteria:

• Reflectiveness: Share with us your own, original reflections regarding the questions we ask. We will value answers that show that you have taken the time and made the effort to critically think about them and to articulate your own thoughts to answer them.
• Clarity: Convey your thoughts in a clear, specific, and well-structured way. We will value answers that allow us to grasp clearly what you share with us to learn more about you and your motivation.
• Engagement: The three questions are linked with one another as they all centre around the topic of leadership (your understanding of leadership; developing your leadership skills; contributing to your leadership and learning community). We will value answers that connect with and build on each other to convey your thoughts about leadership.

• Be yourself! No previous work, leadership, or research experience is required: we are not looking for an existing record of past achievements (although you may have one), rather we are most interested in candidates with great development potential.
• What we are most interested in is (a) your motivation for taking part in this programme and (b) your willingness and ability to reflect about leadership and yourself.
• Following on from the previous point, there is no right or wrong answer to any of the questions.
• As you prepare your application, we warmly recommend that you discuss your thoughts and application with fellow students, friends, or family. Typically, such conversations help applicants to develop and articulate their thoughts.
• Have someone else look at your application before you submit it – try to avoid grammar or spelling errors.
• A good application will take time and a few drafts – we suggest you start early and put aside enough time to produce a high-quality application.

• We offer a series of Q&A sessions (five online, one in-person). The online sessions you can attend via this Zoom link: https://lse.zoom.us/j/81733297334: 
   
  Online: Fri, 1 December, 11.00-11.45 
  In-Person: Mon, 4 December, 13.00-13.45 (LSE LIFE, space 2, ground floor of the library) 
  Online: Thu, 7 December, 11.00-11.45 
  Online: Mon, 11 December, 12.00-12.45  
  Online: Thu, 14 December, 11.00-11.45  
   
  To get into the Zoom session, you will have to login to Zoom with your LSE account – please see here how to do this. The sessions will not be recorded, but in case additional relevant points will be discussed, we may update the information here on this website. 
• LSE LIFE Study Advisers will be happy to support you with your application – for example, they can help you with planning your application or refining your answers. You can book a one-to-one session via this link.

Once you have successfully submitted your application, we will contact you no later than Friday, 12 January 2024 with the outcome of the shortlisting process. There is no need to contact us for further updates.

The dates of the selection process are as follows:

• Application deadline: Thursday, 14 December 2023, 23.59 

• Announcement of shortlisting (by email): Friday, 12 January 2024 

• Second round of selection process (in person at LSE): Wednesday, 17 January 2024, 12.00-18.00 

• Announcement of final selection (by email): Friday, 26 January 2024