Social Learning Fellows
a certificate program
Develop your identity, legitimacy, skills and expertise as a leader of social learning
Cabo Espichel, Sesimbra
Photo by MG PHOTO
In short ...
This is a one-year program where your project-at-work drives the learning. In completing the program you join a community of fellows in social learning leadership. During the year you engage in monthly sessions among a small cohort and in monthly individual coaching sessions. The program culminates in a panel session to share your learning with experts in your field.
The program
Concepts like community of practice, social learning, and social learning space have become popular buzzwords. But there is a risk that they are being used so loosely as to become meaningless or applied in ways that are destined not to work.
The purpose of the certificate program is to form a cadre of people versed in the theory and practice of the field. It is a challenging program that involves participation in workshops and learning sessions, as well as one year of project coaching. The project may include working with one or more communities of practice, leading a social learning initiative, carrying out an evaluation, or conducting a study.
Successful completion of the program will lead to a certificate that recognizes a person’s understanding of the principles of the field and ability to lead a social-learning initiative, including developing strategies, cultivating communities and networks, and monitoring value creation.
Who can join?
The certificate program is for learning professionals who want to be at the forefront of their field, including:
- Conveners, leaders, and co-ordinators of communities and networks
- Chief Learning Officers designing a social learning strategy
- Evaluators doing a substantial assessment of a community or network
- Sponsors of a community of practice initiative
- PhD students undertaking some research in this area
- Trainers or coaches to community leaders
You will meet people from different sectors, jobs and organizations who will be able to share their perspectives on your project.
The key to participation is having a concrete project to work on, significant enough to challenge you and everyone involved in the program. Preferably, it is something you have to do anyway for your work. We will be discussing project(s) you propose as part of the application process.
How it unfolds
Phase 1
- Participate in at least one workshop hosted by the Social Learning Lab
- Articulation of your project-at-work, the context, and the difference you are trying to make
Phase 2
- One year of coaching for your project-at-work and implementing the tools, approaches, and methods introduced in the workshop
- Peer mentoring
- Monthly video-conferences
Phase 3
- Participate in a cutting-edge workshop hosted by the Social Learning Lab
- Design a presentation of your journey as a social learning leader
- Engage with a panel review consisting of the two of us, two other reviewers of your choice (managers or experts in your field), and other fellows in social learning leadership
Phase 4
- After completing the certificate, join a community of fellow social learning leaders
- You will be invited to join some of the future activities of each new cohort
- Participate in at least two panel reviews of future fellows
Cost
The cost for the whole program is USD 9,500. This price includes participation in two workshops hosted by the Social Learning Lab. At least one should be in person.
It is also possible to pay for the two workshops separately if it works better for you. In particular, this allows people to decide to join the certificate program after participating in a workshop. This workshop will then count toward the certificate.
We offer a limited number of partial scholarships for people whose circumstances make our prices prohibitive. A link to the scholarship request is available with the program application.
Current fellows in social learning leadership
Welcome to our friends and colleagues who completed the program and presented their portfolio to managers or experts in their field. The date refers to the date of their panel review. Their title refers to their job title at that time.
2014
Claudette Rasmussen
Senior Consultant,
American Institutes for Research
2014
Mariola Rosser
Senior Associate,
IDEA Partnership, National Association of State Directors of Special Education
2014
Patrice Lineham
Senior Policy Analyst,
National Association of
State Directors of Special Education
2015
Diane Culver
Associate Professor,
School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, Canada
2015
Olga Vtorushina
Learning Manager,
Siemens Wind, Denmark
2020
Sandy Schefkind
Pediatric Practice Manager,
American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA)
2021
Heidi Madsen
Project Manager
JPMorgan Chase
2022
Per Hammer
Vice President,
JP Morgan Chase
2022
Phil Reid
Communities of Practice Manager,
Chief Technology Office, JPMorgan Chase
2023
Darren Cambridge
Managing Director,
Institute for Trustworthy AI in Law and Society, U of Maryland
2023
Shikha Takker
Assistant Prof,
School of Ed, Mahindra Uni, Hyderabad,
and Visiting Researcher
SoE, U of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, S.A.
2023
Maura Polansky
2023
Visiting Clinical Professor,
University of Illinois, Chicago