Train The Trainer Program

Problem Statement

As an individual with Iranian heritage,  I am always proud of Iran 2500 years of culture and history. I am also proud of many successful Iranian fellows all around the world, to name a few: Pardis Sabeti, Maryam Mirzakhani, Omid Kordestani, Dara Khosrowshahi, Sara Zahedi, Firouz Naderi, Hadi Partovi, Pierre Omidyar, Arash Ferdowsi, Lily Sarafan, Ali Rowghani and many more.

All these set the bars high for the Iranian communities to accomplish even more.

In this fast pace enterprise-based world, it is a proven fact that the interpersonal skills such as communication, teamwork and leadership can produce a great deal of impact in organizations and change the position of the organization to be a leader in their industry. Social communities are not the exceptions.

There is a gap, in our young generation Iranian communities, which holds us back to effectively work together, discuss differences, agree upon goals, win together, be challenged together, lose together and learn for those failures together in order to advance our community together.

You may not agree with me. But I speak from experience. I worked with many young grad students, PhD and Postdoc students in some community projects for two (2) years. They are genuinely smart and well educated in their fields of expertise. They bring brilliant ideas to the table. But when it comes to collaboration and teamwork, the confusion starts.I personally witnessed how many ingenious ideas and projects failed. I saw how those passions and motivations disappeared and turned to disappointment, worthlessness and hollow. It is very unfortunate and sad, and it should not be this way.

But I know why. Born, raised and educated in Iran, I had never had an opportunity to be exposed to the teamwork and interpersonal skill educations. Until I came to US to do my PhD. It took me a while to vividly understand only the technical expertise is not enough to succeed a plan or project. There are some other skills that I had never been exposed to and learned as part of my education and professional career.

Program Objective

The “Train the Trainer” program aims to spread the effective communication skills as a culture in the Iranian student communities around the DMV area. The program will provide 5 free seats for the Iranian students who are actively volunteer in community works. In return, the students should train their team and the interested community members for free as well under my supervision. My next step is to provide certification to those who put the lesson learned into action and do 20 hours volunteer work in our community.

Our mission

This is the first step to raise the public awareness for the communication and teamwork skill gaps in our community. By each $120 donation, you will sponsor an Iranian student who is enrolled in one of the universities around the great Washington DC area for a full day workshop from 9am to 4:30pm. The students will learn the principle of the effective communication and will practice it at the class. The classes are conducted in a highly interactive style with several collaborative exercises. The workshop is instructed by Vahideh Hashemi certified by Rotman School of Management, one of the top Business Schools in North America.

We will pick students from the Iranian student organizations, based at the universities, which are actively volunteer in community works. As part of the program, the trained students should train their team and the interested members in their organization for free in return. The entire program runs under my close supervision. My goal is to repeat those internal training to increase the education penetration depth.

We will also encourage students to obtain the certifications. Our certification is awarded to those who put the lesson learned into action and do 20 hours volunteer work in our community.

Your donation regardless of size will make a big difference. Should you have any question or need more information about the program, please directly contact me at kparvan@elynkco.com.

Sincerely,

Kiavash Parvan, PhD
Founder & CEO
eLynk Consulting Company LLC