I am pleased to announce the University of Cumbria are now taking enrolments for two short academic courses on Deep Adaptation leadership. These are the only academic short courses on DA that I intend to teach over the next 12 months. One option is an online course, with times suitable from East Coast USA to Europe and India. The other course is in-person over 4 days in the beautiful Lake District, UK, in April 2021.
Drawn together by their awareness of humanity’s predicament, the participants are diverse, such as University Vice Chancellors, Fund Managers, School Teachers, Management Consultants, Politicians and Environmental Activists. They are all challenged and supported in an inter-disciplinary exploration of both sustainability and leadership, where orthodoxies are deconstructed to help each other develop our leadership for an era of unfolding climate chaos. The course is framed with the perspective that societal breakdown is either likely, inevitable or already occurring (i.e. the Deep Adaptation Agenda).
Given the emotionally challenging topic of the course, it includes diverse forms of experiential learning. 100% of the participants in the last iteration of the course agreed that the teaching had been engaging. Comments included:
“Amazing facilitation. Extremely open climate. The feeling of being in a safe space. The group work I just wanted more of.”
“The mix of gentle, reflective and meditative practices, joyful play, hard academia and questioning debate and conversation allowed me to engage with each element in a different way, and preventing me from becoming weary mentally or emotionally from too much of one thing.”
If you are wondering what I mean by leadership, you may find my introductory lecture on leadership to be helpful, as well as my blog on leadership from last year. If you are wondering about the role of University education, and my approach to it in the face of our climate crisis, you may find my lecture on that topic to be of interest. You can see the participants from the most recent online course ask questions of XR co-founder Clare Farrell here.
If you are motivated to engage with Deep Adaptation more fully in your professional life, then I look forward to meeting you on one of these courses! There are discounts for volunteers with the Deep Adaptation Forum.
The details of each course follow…
Sustainable Leadership and Deep Adaptation online: 23rd to 26th November 2020. 11 am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm GMT each day (6am-midday New York, 430pm-1030pm Mumbai). This course is led by Professor Jem Bendell. There are a maximum 30 places, which must be purchased before October 31st 2020 (though may sell out well before then). The preparatory course work begins on November 1st and involves a minimum of 10 hours self-directed learning (videos, reading, reflective writing). The 4-day intensive starts 11am GMT on 23rd November and it involves highly interactive processes with tutors and participants in one learning journey (so no part of it should be missed). Participants have the option of 1 day in-person together with Professor Jem Bendell in the Lake District (UK) on April 11th 2021 (no extra charge but accommodation must be booked separately and the event depends on the pandemic ending). Typically, participants form online co-mentoring circles which meet once a month after the course. Check the start time in your time zone here. The course price is £430 GBP. A discounted rate of £290 GBP is available volunteers in the Deep Adaptation Forum. The discounted places are limited to ten participants and the course maximum size is 30 participants.
Sustainable Leadership and Deep Adaptation in the Lake District, UK. 7th to 10th April 2021 (with preparatory work from March 5th). 9am to 5pm BST each day. This course is led by Professor Jem Bendell. There are a maximum of 24 places, which must be purchased by February 28th 2021 (though may sell out well before then). The preparatory course work begins on March 5th and involves a minimum of 10 hours self-directed learning (videos, reading, reflective writing). The 4-day intensive starts 9am GMT on April 7th and it involves highly interactive processes with tutors and participants in one learning journey (so no part of it should be missed). Participants have the option of an additional day of open space conference on Deep Adaptation on April 11th 2021 (no extra charge but accommodation must be booked separately and the event depends on the pandemic ending). Typically, participants form online co-mentoring circles which meet once a month after the course. The course price is £600 GBP. A discounted rate of £400 GBP is available volunteers in the Deep Adaptation Forum. The discounted places are limited to ten participants and the course maximum size is 30 participants.
The content of this course is the same as the Certificate of Achievement in “Sustainable Leadership” which includes assessments, awards 20 academic credits, and is priced differently.
Theses courses sell out and I won’t be teaching more academic courses on DA Leadership in 2020, so if interested, don’t delay. However, if you are considering but are not sure, then please join a Q&A with me about leadership for Deep Adaptation on August 27th 2020 at 3pm BST (UK), 7am San Francisco, 4pm Berlin, 730pm Mumbai, 10pm Singapore. Check the start time where you are here.
Professor Jem Bendell 