Keeping up with world affairs may get dull and tedious at times by simply reading news articles or watching video news programmes. By participating in MUNs, knowledge of the world increases tremendously as one represents a country at a ‘global’ level and interact with other delegates representing other countries.

As a delegate, you are expected to conduct extensive study on your assigned nations, analysing and comprehending their foreign policies and determining which variables could impact the country’s international behaviour. Not only this, but students also grow knowledge on the local issues of various countries and cultivate into empathetic adults. This prepares them to tackle problems as well as build a strong EQ at an early age.

A MUN involves meeting new people, interacting with unfamiliar faces, working in high-pressure situations with teams to develop resolutions and to express views in a self-assured manner. From preparing for the MUNs to the discussions, debates, and resolutions made during the MUN, the entire experience serves to boost confidence which helps in future interactions where a person would need to express themselves in high-pressure situations.

Astute analytical ability is a trait that helps at every stage of life as well as in any career. MUN is an ideal place to hone analytical skills and problem-solving skills, as in a simulated environment everyone will be challenged and required to solve the task after examining all aspects to come up with an acceptable resolution. Thus learning how to identify the key components of a topic, determining factors to be kept in mind while deciding on the solution, and putting it all together to come up with a final resolution that satisfies all concerned countries is a trait one has to inculcate in themselves.

Diplomacy, or the art of negotiation, is not only restricted to conversations between two countries, but pertains to any purposeful exchange between two groups, and thus, is a very useful skill to possess. By practicing diplomacy at the MUNs, a person will become more knowledgeable and experienced on how to conduct negotiations between two groups in a tactful and result-oriented manner. Attending a MUN is an ideal way to cultivate a network, by making new friends and build connections. During a MUN, one meets other delegates, senior delegates, organizers, co-sponsors, judges, and chairs of the event.

Developing efficient public speaking skills takes practice, and the MUNs provide an ideal platform where one can explore and improve their capabilities. Public speaking, vis-a-vis expressing one’s views and debate in front of an audience is an integral part of the MUNs, since, one makes multiple speeches during the overall MUN event, there will be several opportunities to improve one’s public speaking prowess.

There is a hefty amount of writing involved at MUNs, including writing for speeches, writing position papers on the topic given for resolution, possible amendments, and finally, writing the resolution itself which is a lot more disciplined and requires more creativity. Each writing piece involves research and analysis and will serve to groom one’s writing skills, a useful skill for college and professional life.

It is not a stretch to claim that personalities flourish at MUNs. The independence, challenges, and teamwork surely serve to enhance leadership skills, as individual’s take charge as a representative of a real-world country. They are encouraged to take decisions and work out solutions as a leader for the country. In order to work, the debate requires different people to fill different roles. Moreover, chairpeople also develop good evaluation skills, since they are awarded for their performance.

MUNs are known for their quality, high standards, and difficulty levels. Students aspiring to become professional diplomats can practice and groom themselves for the field by participating in MUNs, which are a real-life example of the life and work of professional diplomats. Participating in one, works as an asset when for college and/or jobs applications. Universities are beginning to hold profile-based admissions, where they assign significant weightage to extra-curricular activities.