Workshop themes and activities
On the MA in Leadership for Sustainability participants attend a total of eight workshops: six of these are residential and two are online, using the programme's virtual learning environment (Sakai). One of the face-to-face workshops takes place at a residential centre in the North West, making the most of our proximity to several national parks and enabling you to explore ecological issues at first hand.
The workshops are typically scheduled to run every two or three months - dates for the workshops will vary for each cohort, but those for the forthcoming programme are given in the box on the right.
In-between sessions participants meet online as a whole-course learning community, and also support one another in smaller action learning sets. These play an important part in helping you to shape the learning papers that form the coursework assignments for the MA.
Programme of workshops
Year 1
Mapping Leadership for Sustainability (5 days, at Lancaster)
- Introduces the MA’s key integrating themes: leadership, change, systemic thinking, power, diversity, social justice, and action research
- Critically reviews notions of sustainability
- Develops the course learning community, including creating learning sets of 4-6 participants
In this initial workshop, participants start work on their first learning paper. This is followed by work in online learning sets, which continues throughout the degree.
Inquiry and Research Methods (online workshop, over 8 days)
- Continues the development of action research understanding and skills
- Explores qualitative research approaches and issues
- Reviews the relevance of quantitative research methods to understanding climate change
- Develops applied inquiry practices and evaluation strategies for ongoing learning projects
Participants and tutors taking a welcome break during their residential workshop in Ennerdale.
Systemic Thinking and Action (4 days, at Lancaster)
- Explores a range of approaches to systemic thinking, theoretically and experientially
- Applies systemic thinking to leadership and change for sustainability
- Experiments with conducting system mapping
Participants start work on their second learning paper (submitted for feedback before the next workshop) and on their group project (submitted for assessment prior to the first workshop of Year 2).
Practising Sustainability (4 days, at a residential centre)
- Engages participants in theoretical and experiential explorations of ecological issues and climate effects
- Explores micro and macro practices of sustainability
- Reviews leadership in action through workshop activities
Before the next workshop, participants submit their Assessment Portfolio of work completed during the first year, ie two learning papers, a learning review and the group project.
Year 2
Leadership for Change: Climate Change Solutions (4 days, at Lancaster)
- Reviews leadership and change theories and practices in relation to sustainability
- Critically explores proposed climate change solutions, evaluating their potential as systemic change interventions
- Develops critical understanding of participants' own theories and practices of leadership
During this workshop, participants receive feedback on their first-year Assessment Portfolio and begin work on their dissertations, which are submitted after the last workshop of the programme.
Corporate Responsibility and International Development (4 days, at Lancaster)
- Explores issues and theories of power
- Critically evaluates corporate responsibility as a form of organisational engagement with sustainability
- Explores issues of international development and their relationships to sustainability and social justice
- Develops critical understanding of participants' own theories and practices of leadership
Dissertation Support (online workshop, over 5 days)
This is designed to help participants to develop their dissertations, methodologically and conceptually, and to review and deepen work with inquiry and research approaches.
Sustaining Learning and Leadership (4 days, at Lancaster)
- Reviews learning in relation to the key integrating themes of the MA
- Reviews individuals' project work and plans next steps
After this workshop, participants submit their second-year Assessment Portfolio, which contains their dissertation and second learning review.
