Enroll in the program today! Once you sign up, we will add you to our EXCEL+ Career Readiness plus Leadership Canvas course, where you will have access to the full program and be able to submit your “assignments” and track your points. Each competency requires 30 points, including a 500-word reflection essay on the activities you completed for each competency. Upon completion of a competency, you will be awarded a digital badge for you to use on social media or on your LinkedIn profile.

There are plenty of activities on campus for everyone to complete. All activities and experiences in the program can be found in the accordion below, or in the searchable/sortable table at the bottom of the page. Contact us at engage@ucr.edu if you know of an activity on campus that you think should be included in the program.

Competency Information and Campus Activities

• Career & Self-Development

  Career and Self-Development

  Proactively develop oneself and one’s career through continual personal and professional learning, awareness of one’s strengths and weaknesses, navigation of career opportunities, and networking to build relationships within and without one’s organization.

  Sample Behaviors:

  • Show an awareness of own strengths and areas for development.
  • Identify areas for continual growth while pursuing and applying feedback.
  • Develop plans and goals for one’s future career.
  • Professionally advocate for oneself and others.
  • Display curiosity; seek out opportunities to learn.
  • Assume duties or positions that will help one progress professionally.
  • Establish, maintain, and/or leverage relationships with people who can help one professionally.
  • Seek and embrace development opportunities.
  • Voluntarily participate in further education, training, or other events to support one’s career.

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  Activities and experiences for Career & Self-Development competency:

  
• Communication

  Communication

  Clearly and effectively exchange information, ideas, facts, and perspectives with persons inside and outside of an organization.

  Sample Behaviors:

  • Understand the importance of and demonstrate verbal, written, and non-verbal/body language, abilities.
  • Employ active listening, persuasion, and influencing skills.
  • Communicate in a clear and organized manner so that others can effectively understand.
  • Frame communication with respect to diversity of learning styles, varied individual communication abilities, and cultural differences.
  • Ask appropriate questions for specific information from supervisors, specialists, and others.
  • Promptly inform relevant others when needing guidance with assigned tasks.

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  Activities and experiences for the Communication competency:

  
• Community Engagement & Social Responsibility

  Community Engagement & Social Responsibility

  Utilizing knowledge gained to help solve community problems in reciprocal and sustainable ways

  Sample Behaviors:

  • Engage in collaborative work to increase the community's good
  • Recognize social systems and how they affect communities
  • Affirm the value of individuals and communities

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  Activities and experiences for the Communication Engagement & Social Responsibility competency:

  
• Critical Thinking

  Critical Thinking

  Identify and respond to needs based on an understanding of situational context and logical analysis of relevant information.

  Sample Behaviors:

  • Make decisions and solve problems using sound, inclusive reasoning and judgment.
  • Gather and analyze information from a diverse set of sources and individuals to fully understand a problem.
  • Proactively anticipate needs and prioritize action steps.
  • Accurately summarize and interpret data with an awareness of personal biases that may impact outcomes.
  • Effectively communicate actions and rationale, recognizing the diverse perspectives and lived experiences of stakeholders.
  • Multi-task well in a fast-paced environment.

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  Activities and experiences for the Critical Thinking competency:

  
• Equity & Inclusion

  Equity & Inclusion

  Demonstrate the awareness, attitude, knowledge, and skills required to equitably engage and include people from different local and global cultures. Engage in anti-racist practices that actively challenge the systems, structures, and policies of racism.

  Sample Behaviors:

  • Solicit and use feedback from multiple cultural perspectives to make inclusive and equity-minded decisions.
  • Actively contribute to inclusive and equitable practices that influence individual and systemic change.
  • Advocate for inclusion, equitable practices, justice, and empowerment for historically marginalized communities.
  • Seek global cross-cultural interactions and experiences that enhance one’s understanding of people from different demographic groups and that leads to personal growth.
  • Keep an open mind to diverse ideas and new ways of thinking.
  • Identify resources and eliminate barriers resulting from individual and systemic racism, inequities, and biases.
  • Demonstrate flexibility by adapting to diverse environments.
  • Address systems of privilege that limit opportunities for members of historically marginalized communities.

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  Activities and experiences for the Equity & Inclusion competency:

  
• Leadership Development

  Leadership Development

  Recognize and capitalize on personal and team strengths to achieve organizational goals.

  Sample Behaviors:

  • Inspire, persuade, and motivate self and others under a shared vision.
  • Seek out and leverage diverse resources and feedback from others to inform direction.
  • Use innovative thinking to go beyond traditional methods.
  • Serve as a role model to others by approaching tasks with confidence and a positive attitude.
  • Motivate and inspire others by encouraging them and by building mutual trust.
  • Plan, initiate, manage, complete, and evaluate projects.

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  Activities and experiences for the Leadership Development competency:

  
• Professionalism

  Professionalism

  Knowing work environments differ greatly, understand and demonstrate effective work habits, and act in the interest of the larger community and workplace.

  Sample Behaviors:

  • Act equitably with integrity and accountability to self, others, and the organization.
  • Maintain a positive personal brand in alignment with organizational and personal career values.
  • Be present and prepared.
  • Demonstrate dependability (e.g., report consistently for work or meetings).
  • Prioritize and complete tasks to accomplish organizational goals.
  • Consistently meet or exceed goals and expectations.
  • Have attention to detail, resulting in few if any errors in their work.
  • Show a high level of dedication toward doing a good job.

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  Activities and experiences for the Professionalism competency:

  

   

• Research Literacy

  Research Literacy

  Understands how to find and utilize multiple quality sources of information and incorporate them to analyze and generate new understanding.

  Sample Behaviors:

  • Assess and interpret multiple sources of information
  • Solve problems and create new insights
  • Explores issues, objects, or works through the collection and analysis of evidence
  • Utilize various methods of inquiry as appropriate for the profession

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  Activities and experiences for the Research Literacy competency:

  
• Teamwork

  Teamwork

  Build and maintain collaborative relationships to work effectively toward common goals, while appreciating diverse viewpoints and shared responsibilities.

  Sample Behaviors:

  • Listen carefully to others, taking time to understand and ask appropriate questions without interrupting.
  • Effectively manage conflict, interact with and respect diverse personalities, and meet ambiguity with resilience.
  • Be accountable for individual and team responsibilities and deliverables.
  • Employ personal strengths, knowledge, and talents to complement those of others.
  • Exercise the ability to compromise and be agile.
  • Collaborate with others to achieve common goals.
  • Build strong, positive working relationships with supervisor and team members/coworkers.

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  Activities and experiences for the Teamwork competency:

  
• Technological Literacy

  Technological Literacy

  Understand and leverage technologies ethically to enhance efficiencies, complete tasks, and accomplish goals.

  Sample Behaviors:

  • Navigate change and be open to learning new technologies.
  • Use technology to improve efficiency and productivity of their work.
  • Identify appropriate technology for completing specific tasks.
  • Manage technology to integrate information to support relevant, effective, and timely decision-making.
  • Quickly adapt to new or unfamiliar technologies.
  • Manipulate information, construct ideas, and use technology to achieve strategic goals.

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  Activities and experiences for the Technological Literacy competency: