From May 20 to 21, 2023 MEM freshman team building & outward-bound training was successfully carried out in Putuo Campus of East China Normal University and Suzhou. This activity, as the first module of innovative leadership training in the freshman Orientation series, covers a variety of activities such as campus orientation, thinking training, and innovative games. All students in the senior class, elite class 1, elite class 2, and elite class 3 jointly explore the spirit of innovation in the dual challenges of brain and physical strength.
Warming up and breaking the ice: building a team and finding a sense of belonging
On the afternoon of May 20th, an ice breaking trip officially departed. The 2023 freshmen gather on the playground and use several warm-up games to stimulate their excitement. Subsequently, everyone divided into 8 groups and brainstormed to determine the captain and team slogan, and jointly drew team flags with unique team characteristics.
After the group allocation is completed, campus orientation activities will be launched immediately. Students walked around the campus, clocking in famous scenes of the campus, and at the same time, they worked together to complete the change, tangram, tongue twister and other challenges. The beautiful campus scenery echoed with intense discussions and laughter.
Speed of 60 seconds: Expand your thinking and dare to try
Students from the advanced class held a special class ice breaking activity and jointly experienced a game called Speed 60 seconds. Within a limited time, they found the hidden clues behind the scattered cards in the enclosed area. Through this exciting game, students feel the importance of reasonable team division of labor, the courage to try, and the relationship between decision-making and execution, and have gained a new understanding of the word Creation and Innovation.
On May 21st, the students moved to Suzhou and, after a night off, welcomed the new day's activities with full enthusiasm. Today's event is divided into three modules: Innovation Winner, Benefit Decoder, and Giant Catcher. Through in-depth experience of different projects, students have gained a more personal understanding of team collaboration, communication, decision-making, and execution, expanding their innovative thinking.
After a simple warm-up, the students started their first project, Innovation Winner. It includes five small tasks: building the road of innovation, making innovative Tomatoes on sticks, skillfully forming balloon beds, skillfully solving thousands of knots and the Great Wall of Steel. At first glance, it seems that every task is impossible to complete, but the students gradually found out the ways and methods through constant attempts. For example, to solve thousands of knots skillfully, we need to find a breakthrough point in the closed round rope, the Great Wall of Steel needs enough patience to find the absolute balance point of multiple nails, and innovative Tomatoes on sticks stresses stability, accuracy and ruthlessness. Through these exciting games, everyone can also better understand that innovation often comes from the courage and perseverance to try and make mistakes.
The second project is Benefit Decoding, which requires team members to collaborate and decode 26 playing cards in a given order. In this stage, students need to constantly adjust the way the team cooperates with changes in rules, from paper and pen recording to verbal communication, and finally relying solely on gestures and actions, the tacit understanding between team members is also constantly increasing. In the end, the Immortal Crazy Team topped the list with a time of 3:44 seconds, breaking the previous record of 3:45 seconds set by the seniors. Through this intense and stimulating project, everyone further understood the importance of adhering to responsibilities, empathy, effective communication, and efficient execution in team work.
The final project is the Giant Catcher, which is also the most challenging part of personal ability and team collaboration. Students built the competition equipment according to the drawings, and completed a series of challenges together, such as resistance parachute, bow and arrow, battle rope, sledge, ox horn sandbag, long rope, box jumping, hula hoop turning, jumping jack, barrier pole, and stone thrower, until the flag of innovative China waved up under the blue sky at the end.
Student perception: gratitude for innovation, gratitude for persistence
The one-and-a-half-day Outward Bound Training has come to an end in the fleeting time. Through this activity, students have quickly integrated into the collective from acquaintance, acquaintance to familiarity, and gained a new understanding of innovation and innovative leadership.