In the context of its collaboration with the Aoyama Gakuin University (AGU), the WCO conducted a Leadership and Management Development (LMD) Workshop for students of the Strategic Management and Intellectual Property Rights Programme (SMIPRP). The event was held at the AGU campus in Tokyo from March 4 to 13, 2013.
The SMIPR Programme, sponsored by the WCO with financial support from the Government of Japan (WCO Scholarship Programme), allows participants over the course of a year to acquire a Masters degree in business administration. The programme targets Customs officials from all regions of the world and contributes in its own way to the efforts of the WCO to build the capacity of its Member administrations. This year’s SMIPR programme brought together participants from the Customs administrations of China, El Salvador, Ghana, Maldives Mauritius, Mexico, Namibia, and Thailand.
In an objective to provide SMIPRP participants with the tools needed to use their knowledge to effect change in practice through effective management and leadership, the AGU and the WCO agreed to take participants through the WCO Leadership and Management Workshop.
The LMD Workshop focuses on the development of a number of key management practices and leadership qualities that are essential to the modern and effective Customs manager. Participants were given an opportunity to explore themes such as strategic management, visioning, communication, change management, negotiations, people management and the promotion of integrity in the workplace.
Based on the feedback received from students and professors, it was also agreed that the LMD workshop would continue to form an integral part of the SMIPR Programme in future. The WCO is looking to collaborate with other academic institutions as a way to ensure greater sustainability for its LMD Programme.