Virtual project as a tool for leadership skills development

Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, Polytechnicheskaya, 29, Saint-Petersburg, Russia

^* Corresponding author: kobicheva92@gmail.com

Abstract

The paper is dedicated to the investigation of international online project influence on students’ leadership skills development. The sample included 141 students who participated in the online X-culture project as a part of their professional discipline course. The research was carried out in the years 2019-2020. The students were surveyed every week during a 2-month length project. For the analysis, we used the answers of the first and the last surveys to determine the impact of the project. The results showed significant improvements in all indicators of Leadership skills that confirmed the positive influence of the X-culture project. Moreover, we conducted inter-views with ten random students to reveal the influencing factors of the project and define whether the project changes students’ behavior toward professional discipline learning. Students confirmed the positive influence of working in a virtual team on their communication skills and general motivation to study the professional discipline. Thus, we confirmed the importance of implementing project activity into the courses of professional discipline due to substantial influence on leadership skills development and higher engagement in the learning process.