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NASA Director acclaims Post Graduate coaching at UEL

Thursday 15 July 2010

NASA Director of Systems Engineering Leadership Development, Chris Williams

Addressing the largest conference the University of East London has ever hosted, NASA Director of Systems Engineering Leadership Development, Chris Williams, praised the University, saying that with its post-graduate courses in Coaching for Leadership and Organisations, ‘it had created a great learning environment in which to share and discuss coaching’.

Co-hosted by the Association of Coaching, Chris spoke alongside coaching luminaries from around the world, including Dr Anthony Grant from Sydney University; Professor Alex Linley, Founding Director of the Centre of Applied Positive Psychology and Katherine Tulpa, Co-Founder of the Association of Coaching.

The conference entitled - Leadership Coaching: Developing Elite Performance; was chaired by Gladeana McMahon, considered to be one of the top transformational coaches in the UK. 

Chris talked of the enormous complexities involved in working with the kind of systems engineers who operate at the cutting edge of space exploration, and said that she was ‘very grateful to be able to share NASA’s experiences’ and to find out more about how others are using coaching, too’.

Although the International Space Station may seem a long way from a university campus, Chris said: “So many of the coaching experiences discussed here today are similar to the ones we have experienced at NASA. The way others have applied coaching can help inform and accelerate our own program. This has been a very valuable conference”.

Coaching has emerged in recent years as a key constituent across all areas of Human Resources. UEL’s Postgraduate Certificate in Coaching is aimed at those working in HR, organisational development, consulting and management who are interested in developing their coaching skills. The programme covers coaching skills and the application of those skills within organisations and with managers and senior executives.

Notes to Editors

The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 28,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.

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