Student Recognised as Part of Next Generation of Development Leaders

Trinity postgraduate Rai Sengupta has been recognised for her commitment to furthering global sustainable development.

She was recently selected as one of 100 young leaders across the world to participate in the Global Leadership Challenge 2021, an initiative to support global future leaders and  develop innovative solutions to address specific United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The participants are selected  based on their commitment to responsible leadership and passion for engaging with complex global challenges.

Rai Sengupta says: ‘During the Global Leadership Challenge 2021, I was very fortunate to team up with three incredible women from Syria, Peru, and Israel to develop a solution for SDG 5: Gender Equality. Through brainstorming sessions replete with cross-cultural learnings, we developed an app-based platform to increase access to contraceptives in the Latin American Region, against the backdrop of COVID-19 induced disruptions. It was a humbling experience to learn how regions across the world - despite having obvious differences - are bound by common challenges, which can potentially be addressed through purposeful leadership and innovation.’

As a Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholar pursuing an MSc in Evidence-Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation, Rai also took part in the recent COP26 climate conference. As part of the Weidenfeld Hoffmann Trust's Scholar Delegation to the conference, she took part in an online event addressing the hazards of climate change in India and the potential of youth action to help combat it, and also moderated a panel discussion on the prospects of green jobs in the economy in India, and the skills needed by Indian youth to leverage such opportunities in future. 

Global Leadership Challenge is a joint initiative of the University of Oxford and the St. Gallen Symposium, supported by the Lemann Foundation and the Templeton World Charity Foundation.