What's the Learning Marathon?
A 6 month learning accelerator where you grow yourself, together with a dozen peers, each tackling a different question.
You'll pool your ideas, skills, experience, perspectives and momentum to create a rich 'soil' that will fuel your growth. Together you take on the Marathon: 6 months of activities designed to maximise your potential.
Dates
Applications open July 8th
Open night tbc
Early bird deadline (10% off) Sep 25th
Final application deadline Nov 27th
Kick Off weekend 18th - 19th January
Programme finishes
summer 2020
Full programme dates:
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Kick Off weekend (2 full days): 18th - 19th Jan
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12 fortnightly Tuesday evening Meetups 6.30-9.30pm at a variety of Edinburgh locations.
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12 peer mentoring and coaching sessions, scheduled at your convenience.
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2 full day Power Up days: Saturday 21st March, Saturday 16th May 2020
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Showcase event: Summer 2020
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Finish Line weekend: Summer 2020
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Additional 'Get Shit Done' sessions scheduled on weekend days.
Time commitment:
The guideline we give is that 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 and workshops, some of it will be self-initiated and spent working on your Learning Question.
The Learning Marathon has been designed to integrate alongside work, and many of our participants have had a full time job. If you're unsure, have a chat with your host.
Your host
Hi, I’m Rosie. I am a facilitator, mentor, and coach. I work in heritage education, developing and delivering learning programmes for schools.
With over seven years of facilitation experience, I find joy in exploring something new with a group and love working with people of all ages and backgrounds.
Since returning to education as an adult after the traditional school experience didn't work for me, my passion has been making learning more enjoyable and accessible. As well as my experience as a facilitator, I also bring bags of curiosity, enthusiasm and empathy.
As a parent, I am excited to create a space to explore the possibilities and challenges of parenting - from any perspective.
Perhaps you have an idea, project or business you want to explore but aren't sure where to start. Maybe you want to work, but your current circumstances mean that it isn't possible right now. Perhaps you work supporting children, families, parents or carers and want to explore some of the challenges they face. Perhaps you, or your company, want to explore flexible working options. Perhaps you're none of these things but still intrigued to find out more, if so - then please get in touch anyway!
If this has piques your interest, but you aren't sure what your Learning Question would be yet, don't worry, neither am I! I am currently thinking around the following questions:
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How can I use my skills to work more flexibly and support others?
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How can we create a society that is more supportive of parents, carers and families?
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Can I uncover the possibilities of my own parenting situation and use it to benefit others?
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Can I find a way to support other parents and carers to work more flexibly?
Join me, and we can explore together!
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 could reduce your fee by between 25% - 75%.
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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 offer a fee reduction in exchange for your skills or time. Chat to your host about what's possible.
Employers: We welcome employers fully or partially covering your fee. We have resources to assist you in making the case. Shout if there's something additional your employer would need to see.
FAQs
What does the programme look like?
You can find much more detail about the Learning Marathon and how it works here.
Who is this for?
The Learning Marathon is for you if you want to do it. We aim to be as inclusive as possible and for that reason we welcome diversity on every spectrum. If you can answer yes to the following 4 questions, it's for you:
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Is there a professional, personal or societal challenge you want to grow to meet?
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Do you want to challenge traditional learning formats - and yourself - by joining a peer group?
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Do you recognise the value of working toward more cooperative social patterns of behaviour?
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Are you an adult human, ready to commit to an average of 5 hours per week over 6 months?
What do we look for in participants?
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Commitment.
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Genuine interest in learning with and from a group of peers. You'll have great listening skills and be able to work in collaboration.
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A proactive spirit. You come with lots of ideas and creative energy to make them a reality.
We also welcome applications from pairs or collaborators working on the same goal or project.
How do you select the group?
Enrol Yourself is not about selecting those with the best credentials or interview skills. But we will be thinking about the range of skills and attributes that applicants bring, and we will look for complementary expertise and synergy between the Learning Questions. Our commitment is to connecting a group of peers who bring a diversity of viewpoints and who will effectively multiply each other's learning.
What's the application process like?
The application process is simple. You'll tell us a bit about yourself and make a short proposal for the project you'll work on via an application form. Your project will need to be titled by a Learning Question (see below). If you're shortlisted you will have an interview with your host 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 10% off your fees.
What is a Learning Question?
Your Learning Question is like a thesis question - without the enormous essay. Every Learning Marathon participant identifies a professional, personal or societal challenge that they work on as a project. Your Learning Question is the title of your project and the starting point on your journey. Read more about the Learning Question and how to find one here.
What if I don't have a Learning Question?
Everyone has a Learning Question in there somewhere! Whilst some applicants come with an existing question or project 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.
We have several resources to help you:
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Have a play with our Question Generator
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Download a tool to help you map your goals
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Read more about how to find your Question