Join the London
A multidisciplinary peer group for adults of any age or background who want to grow to meet a professional, personal or societal challenge. Applications are OPEN.
What's the Learning Marathon?
A 6 month learning accelerator where you grow yourself, together, alongside a dozen peers each tackling a different challenge.
With support from your host, you pool your ideas, skills, experience, perspectives and momentum to create a rich 'soil' that will fuel your growth. Together you take on the Path, 6 months of activities designed to maximise your collective potential.
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Early bird application deadline 9am February 15th (10% fee reduction)
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Application deadline 9am March 4th
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Bursaries available, see details below
Your host
David Heinemann is a social activist, coach and theatre maker who supports people to grow themselves, transform systems and improve societies - preferably in that order.
David's recent projects include founding the Freedom of Expression Fellowship, a global award for leading human rights defenders, launching a UK/US series of mental heath retreats with Sunday Assembly, and training 60 young men from council estates across England and Wales in politics and arts activism.
David is an advisory board member of Chinese internet freedom organisation GreatFire. He has also worked with the Young Foundation, OSCA, NESTA and Compass where the Financial Times rightly accused him of 'seeing in apathetic voters a river of petroleum begging to be ignited' (2015).
Diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis in 2008, David is also a disabled endurance athlete and qualified personal trainer. For the #PowerLab Learning Marathon David will explore the question 'what can living in a failing body teach me about living with failures in society?'
"David is a playful storyteller, sense- maker, dot-connector and soul-nurturer."
- Ellie Osborne, 2018 participant
Applications are OPEN
Key dates for your diary:
What does the programme look like?
All the detail is here.
What is the application process like?
The application process is simple. You tell us a bit about yourself and make a short proposal for the challenge you'll take on. You do this via the application form. If you're shortlisted you will have an interview with your facilitator over the phone.
Should you wait until the deadline to apply?
Ideally no. Your host will be review applications as they arrive. Apply by the early bird deadline for a 10% fee reduction.
What's the time commitment?
You will need to be able to commit 5+ hours per week. Some weeks it will be more, other weeks it may be less. Some of this time will be spent in meetups, some of it will be self-initiated. The programme is designed to fit alongside work.
When do we Meetup?
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12 fortnightly Tuesday evening Meetups 6-9.30pm at a variety of accessible London locations.
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12 peer mentoring and coaching sessions, scheduled at your convenience.
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4 full day workshops (23rd-24th March, 18th May, 20th July)
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1 residential weekend retreat (5th-6th October)
What are we looking for?
Essential:
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Commitment to a Learning Question that you will pursue as a self-led project.
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Interest in learning with and from a group of experienced peers. You'll have deep listening skills, be open to exchanging knowledge and networks, and be able to work in collaboration.
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A proactive spirit with an equal commitment to both ideas and action.
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Openness to personal reflection, divergent beliefs and new possibilities.
Desired:
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We welcome applications from people of all ages, but we recommend a minimum of 3-5 years professional experience.
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A sense of humour.
We also welcome applications from pairs or collaborators working on the same goal or project.
From our side we'll be thinking about the range of skills and attributes that applicants will bring, and we will look for complementary expertise and synergy between the learning questions. Our commitment is to connecting a group of peers who will multiply each other's learning.
What does it cost?
We have several options when it comes to fees - to keep the Learning Marathon as accessible as possible.
Fees: Your fees make it possible for your host to make the experience happen. Learning Marathon fees are determined by income. If your annual income is:
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< £15k - some bursaries available
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< £25k - you pay £750
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< £35k - you pay £1050
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< £45k - you pay £1350
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> £45k - you pay £1650
Payment plans: All tiers can make their payments over 6 or 12 monthly instalments to spread the cost.
Bursaries: The following bursaries are available, and would reduce your fee to £250:
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Bursary for someone who identifies as being from an underrepresented background, including but not limited to: BAME, LGBTQ, disabled, refugee or asylum seeker.
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Bursary for someone who is currently unemployed or underemployed (and earning the equivalent of £15k or less per year).
Trades: Occasionally we can offer a fee reduction in exchange for some of your skills or time. You're welcome to chat to your facilitator about what would be possible.
Employers: We welcome employers fully or partially covering your fee. We have resources to assist you in making the case.
Finding your
Learning Question
Whilst some applicants come with an existing question or project that they want to develop, others do not - and that is totally fine. What matters is finding a question that can act as a starting point. Questions tend to evolve along the way, this is all part of the learning process, so there is no need to get too hung up on finding the perfect question. There are several resources below to help you: