TRAINING COURSES WITH THE BIOSPHERE RESEARCH INSTITUTE
2 hour CPD online courses, live with tutor
Seminar followed by group activity/discussion and post-session reflection. These can be tailor-made, following discussion with your organization. All of our courses are delivered online, in order to minimize the ecological footprint of our work. This means that even if your team is located in different places, they are able simultaneously access the courses live around the world. In specific cases, for longer courses, we may consider delivering courses face-to-face. In this case, costs of most environmentally friendly transport (trains and boats) and accommodation would be covered by your organization.
Some recent topics include:
Is Nature an appropriate mentor? (2 sessions, over two weeks, or a one-day course)
On the one hand, Nature is celebrated as the ultimate example of resource efficiency, balance, control and wisdom, a mentor for us to follow if we want to live sustainably. Yet on the other hand, Nature is portrayed as raw in tooth and claw, where everything is hunting everything else and only the fittest survive. In this short course we examine this paradox, and emerge with an understanding of what Nature can and cannot teach us.
Islands and business: Lessons from the microcosm (4 sessions, over 4 weeks, or a two-day course)
Islands are small microcosms of the planet, and can teach us a huge amount when it comes to business management, organizational structure and functionality. We examine three island communities and learn hard lessons from how the human populations collapsed, before exploring how island ecology points the way to a successful framework for your organization.
Systems theory: the basics (5 sessions, over 5 weeks or a three-day course)
We explore how complex systems work, focussing on the key characteristics (self-organization, sub-optimality, emergence, tipping points and feedback) and what this means practically for your work. Course includes the submission of work which will be assessed, with detailed feedback.
Ecosystem management (6 sessions, over 6 weeks or a four-day course)
How do some of the most complex natural ecosystems work and what can we learn from them? We explore six unique ecosystems (rainforest, montane, coral reef, deep ocean, desert and oceanic island), how they function and what lies at the heart of their success. What can we learn from this amazingly resilient and co-ordinated organizations? Course includes the submission of work which will be assessed, with detailed feedback.
A Brief history of ecological design (4 sessions, over 4 weeks or a two day course)
Tracing the relationship between humans, design and the environment over four 2-hour sessions, the roots and development of sustainable design are explored and then you develop your own school of ecological design which are discussed in the fifth session. Course includes the submission of work which will be assessed, with detailed feedback.
Bio-integration and design (5 sessions, over 5 weeks or a three-day course)
Five 2-hour sessions exploring how nature is organized (cell, organism, population, ecosystem and biosphere), the underlying design principles that underpin this, and the relevance of this contextualization for the design process. Course includes the submission of work which will be assessed, with detailed feedback.
Outdoor learning for managers (2 sessions, over 2 weeks or a one-day course)
What can the outdoors offer in terms of leading your team? This enlightening module will inspire you to explore different ways to stimulate and motivate your employees and yourself. From mindfulness to bio-inspiration, and from friluftsliv to deep ecology, we'll give you the tools to transform your thinking from the great outdoors,
The functional management approach (4 sessions, over 4 weeks or a two-day course).
The functional management approach is process driven rather than structure-driven, where solution space is key. Here, you optimize for the solution rather than be constrained by the form of your organization, freeing up creative problem-solving across your organization, rather than limiting it to the board room. This allows you to harness the full skill set present among your employees, and rewarding employees for specific project contributions. Watch this short presentation for some insight into this course.
Designing our way back into the Biosphere (3 sessions, over three weeks or a two-day course).
The birth, life and afterlife of designed products and structures requires careful thought at the conceptual stage. This short course examines the mistakes that design practitioners make when they consider sustainable design, and how to correct for these.
The Honey Economy of the Ogiek: what these indigenous people can teach us about sustainability. (1 session, 1 week).
The Mau Ogiek people of Kenya have an extremely integrated economic, societal and environmental approach to life that has many lessons for our modern world. This session explores what we can learn from these ancient people.
Ethics and decision-making workshop (2 sessions, over 2 weeks or a one-day course).
Why are ethics important and how can they impact upon your work? Ethical stress is now thought to contribute hugely to absences from work. This course addresses these issues in a sensitive way, allowing participants to better understand how best to address ethical dilemmas and to recognize ethical stress amongst the workforce.
Some indicative costings (this will depend on exactly what you want):
2 hour online, live, interactive CPD rates:
9 or more participants: £40 per person per session
6-8 participants: £50 per person per session
2-5 participants: £800 per person per session
1 person: £140 per session.
All of these shorter sessions can be run over a full day (2 sessions per day), with additional group work and reflection, 9-30am to 3.30pm).
Day session rates:
9 or more participants: £120 per person per day
6-8 participants: £160 per person per day
2-5 participants: £200 per person per day
1 person: £250 per per day.
Contact us and discuss how we can meet your training needs.
Seminar followed by group activity/discussion and post-session reflection. These can be tailor-made, following discussion with your organization. All of our courses are delivered online, in order to minimize the ecological footprint of our work. This means that even if your team is located in different places, they are able simultaneously access the courses live around the world. In specific cases, for longer courses, we may consider delivering courses face-to-face. In this case, costs of most environmentally friendly transport (trains and boats) and accommodation would be covered by your organization.
Some recent topics include:
Is Nature an appropriate mentor? (2 sessions, over two weeks, or a one-day course)
On the one hand, Nature is celebrated as the ultimate example of resource efficiency, balance, control and wisdom, a mentor for us to follow if we want to live sustainably. Yet on the other hand, Nature is portrayed as raw in tooth and claw, where everything is hunting everything else and only the fittest survive. In this short course we examine this paradox, and emerge with an understanding of what Nature can and cannot teach us.
Islands and business: Lessons from the microcosm (4 sessions, over 4 weeks, or a two-day course)
Islands are small microcosms of the planet, and can teach us a huge amount when it comes to business management, organizational structure and functionality. We examine three island communities and learn hard lessons from how the human populations collapsed, before exploring how island ecology points the way to a successful framework for your organization.
Systems theory: the basics (5 sessions, over 5 weeks or a three-day course)
We explore how complex systems work, focussing on the key characteristics (self-organization, sub-optimality, emergence, tipping points and feedback) and what this means practically for your work. Course includes the submission of work which will be assessed, with detailed feedback.
Ecosystem management (6 sessions, over 6 weeks or a four-day course)
How do some of the most complex natural ecosystems work and what can we learn from them? We explore six unique ecosystems (rainforest, montane, coral reef, deep ocean, desert and oceanic island), how they function and what lies at the heart of their success. What can we learn from this amazingly resilient and co-ordinated organizations? Course includes the submission of work which will be assessed, with detailed feedback.
A Brief history of ecological design (4 sessions, over 4 weeks or a two day course)
Tracing the relationship between humans, design and the environment over four 2-hour sessions, the roots and development of sustainable design are explored and then you develop your own school of ecological design which are discussed in the fifth session. Course includes the submission of work which will be assessed, with detailed feedback.
Bio-integration and design (5 sessions, over 5 weeks or a three-day course)
Five 2-hour sessions exploring how nature is organized (cell, organism, population, ecosystem and biosphere), the underlying design principles that underpin this, and the relevance of this contextualization for the design process. Course includes the submission of work which will be assessed, with detailed feedback.
Outdoor learning for managers (2 sessions, over 2 weeks or a one-day course)
What can the outdoors offer in terms of leading your team? This enlightening module will inspire you to explore different ways to stimulate and motivate your employees and yourself. From mindfulness to bio-inspiration, and from friluftsliv to deep ecology, we'll give you the tools to transform your thinking from the great outdoors,
The functional management approach (4 sessions, over 4 weeks or a two-day course).
The functional management approach is process driven rather than structure-driven, where solution space is key. Here, you optimize for the solution rather than be constrained by the form of your organization, freeing up creative problem-solving across your organization, rather than limiting it to the board room. This allows you to harness the full skill set present among your employees, and rewarding employees for specific project contributions. Watch this short presentation for some insight into this course.
Designing our way back into the Biosphere (3 sessions, over three weeks or a two-day course).
The birth, life and afterlife of designed products and structures requires careful thought at the conceptual stage. This short course examines the mistakes that design practitioners make when they consider sustainable design, and how to correct for these.
The Honey Economy of the Ogiek: what these indigenous people can teach us about sustainability. (1 session, 1 week).
The Mau Ogiek people of Kenya have an extremely integrated economic, societal and environmental approach to life that has many lessons for our modern world. This session explores what we can learn from these ancient people.
Ethics and decision-making workshop (2 sessions, over 2 weeks or a one-day course).
Why are ethics important and how can they impact upon your work? Ethical stress is now thought to contribute hugely to absences from work. This course addresses these issues in a sensitive way, allowing participants to better understand how best to address ethical dilemmas and to recognize ethical stress amongst the workforce.
Some indicative costings (this will depend on exactly what you want):
2 hour online, live, interactive CPD rates:
9 or more participants: £40 per person per session
6-8 participants: £50 per person per session
2-5 participants: £800 per person per session
1 person: £140 per session.
All of these shorter sessions can be run over a full day (2 sessions per day), with additional group work and reflection, 9-30am to 3.30pm).
Day session rates:
9 or more participants: £120 per person per day
6-8 participants: £160 per person per day
2-5 participants: £200 per person per day
1 person: £250 per per day.
Contact us and discuss how we can meet your training needs.