Learning leadership through arrival

About the author: Michelle Kwok is a member of Cohort 4 of the MSc in Global Health Leadership programme, run jointly by the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences and Saïd Business School.

I am an allergist and immunologist based in Québec, Canada, where much of my clinical work focuses on northern and Indigenous communities. I am part of Cohort 4 of the MSc in Global Health Leadership at the University of Oxford.

My practice involves travelling to remote settings, adapting care to limited infrastructure, and working within cultural and historical contexts that are not my own. Over time, this work has shown me how closely access to specialised care is shaped by system design and policy. I came to the programme seeking a deeper understanding of how leadership can connect clinical practice with systems-level change.

I arrived in London in late September, a few days before Module 1 began, allowing time to adjust to the time zone and to being back in the UK. It did little to steady my nerves. Oxford felt steeped in tradition, from its stone buildings to its rituals, while Saïd Business School stood apart as a newer, more contemporary space. During the campus tour, passing through the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter made that contrast especially clear, where historic structures sit alongside modern academic buildings.

Walking into the classroom at Saïd Business School to meet my cohort, I was immediately aware of how unfamiliar the setting felt. Everyone appeared sharply dressed and confident. I had never been to business school before. I was coming from a world of smart casual clinics and, not long ago, scrubs during the pandemic years. The contrast was striking.

Leadership training, however, was not new to me. Over the years, I had encountered it through mentors and professional settings where leadership was understood as responsibility toward others rather than personal advancement. One idea that had shaped my early understanding was redemptive entrepreneurship, which seeks to use available agency and resources to help restore what has been disrupted and to serve others with purpose. I had much to learn and was attentive to what my instructors and colleagues might teach me.

Cohort 4 of the MSc in Global Healthcare Leadership at Matriculation

At the end of the first day, we attended matriculation, dressed in sub fusc. It was the first time I had worn academic dress since graduating from medical school nearly a decade earlier. As a medical student, I never had a white coat ceremony, and my residency graduation was quietly absorbed into the pandemic years. Returning to a moment marked by tradition felt unexpectedly grounding.

During the ceremony, Dr Kamal Mahtani, Director of the MSc in Global Health Leadership, spoke about the privilege of being there and the responsibility that comes with access to the institution. He encouraged us to use our knowledge and connections thoughtfully and to represent Oxford with care. Our instructors and senior fellows were present in academic dress, reinforcing the sense of continuity and stewardship. I felt the gravity of the moment. It was not about ceremony itself, but about being formally welcomed into an institution that would shape my learning and professional life in the years ahead.

The cohort itself was small but remarkably varied. People arrived from different regions and professional worlds, each bringing distinct ways of understanding systems, responsibility, and leadership. In conversation, it became clear how differently the same challenge could be framed depending on experience and context. Listening across those differences became part of the learning, requiring patience and openness as much as expertise.

Much of the learning during the first module unfolded outside formal sessions. Conversations over coffee, shared reflections at the end of long days, and moments of uncertainty voiced aloud often took place in the Saïd Business School clubhouse. During breaks, we were met with food prepared with unusual care. Much of it was made in house, from hearty soups and bread to fruit and desserts. The staff spoke with pride about their work, and their attentiveness created a sense of welcome that carried through the week.

These informal spaces mattered as much as the classrooms themselves. Early conversations were less about finding answers and more about understanding where others were coming from. As people spoke about the systems they worked within and the responsibilities they carried, I began to notice how differently the same challenge could be understood depending on context. That process of listening, rather than problem-solving, became an important part of the learning.