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International Foundation for Action Learning



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In our 45th year, and in celebration of 70 years of action learning, IFAL is proud to present a special series of events exploring the many and varied forms of action learning practiced around the world today. Join an international audience and learn how action learning has evolved and prospered since Professor Reginald Revans introduced this robust and adaptable concept to management training.


Upcoming events

    • 17 Apr 2024
    • 14:00 - 15:30 (UTC)
    • Online in Zoom
    Register

    INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR ACTION LEARNING
    is proud to present this event as part of our series
    'The International Varieties of Action Learning: Origins and Practices'

    Disruption Down Under
    Action Learning and Skills Reform in Australia

    presented by Robert Cother and Genevieve Cother


    Robert (Bob) Cother and Genevieve (Gen) Cother are a dad and daughter team from the Action Learning Institute (ALI) in Australia. In 2013, ALI became an Australian Registered Training Organisation (RTO) and the first education institution to deliver nationally recognised vocational qualifications, entirely through action learning.

    Bob will share his personal experience of action learning, beginning as a graduate at Ford Motor Company in the early 1970s, through his ‘academic’ years lecturing at Swinburne Institute of Technology in the 1980s, and as a management consultant in the manufacturing industry, throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2006, this experience culminated in the launch of ALI’s flagship program Lean Action Learning.

    Gen will provide an overview of the range of action learning models applied by the Institute, including project-based, work-based, and virtual action learning, and the groundbreaking software and smartphone app, which allow ALI to seamlessly integrate assessment and comply with the requirements of the Australian VET regulator, without subverting the action learning process.

    A newly accredited vocational qualification, a Course in Action Learning, will be presented together with two enterprise micro-credentials currently under development: Facilitating Action Learning in VET (Vocational Education and Training) and Facilitating Action Learning in the Workplace.

    Learn how ALI is using action learning programs to facilitate collaboration across supply chains, industry sectors and regional areas, tackling wicked problems to achieve measurable outcomes for employers and learners.

    Finally, Bob and Gen will provide a brief glimpse of their pioneering work employing AI and natural language models to map workflows to skills descriptors extracted from the National Register of VET, and ultimately connect educators, employers and learners directly into a SMART competency ecosystem.

    Join Bob and Gen as ‘comrades in adversity’ for a conversation about using technology to elevate action learning in mainstream education for the benefit of learners, employers and the wider community.

    About Bob and Gen

    Bob is an Industrial Engineer and Master of Engineering Science with over thirty years experience in manufacturing, business management and socio-technical systems. Bob is an ILM Certified Action Learning Facilitator, with a Graduate Diploma in Adult Education.

    Bob has designed and facilitated action learning programs in a diverse range of industry sectors. Bob developed the Lean Action Learning program to deliver the Australian vocational qualifications MSS40322 Certificate III and MSS40422 Certificate IV in Competitive Systems and Practices, using competency-based assessment. Bob is a staunch advocate of action learning as a vehicle for authentic skills reform in Australia, inspiring him to author the 11063NAT Course in Action Learning, which was added to the Australian National Register of VET in 2022.

    Genevieve is an Industrial Designer and Master of Sustainable Design, an ILM Certified Action Learning Facilitator, and qualified vocational trainer currently undertaking a Graduate Certificate in Adult and Vocational Education at Charles Sturt University. Genevieve followed her father into manufacturing and then again into education. She has also designed and facilitated highly successful action learning programs in a variety of contexts, including the Business Resource Efficiency Program, which is delivered in partnership with the Tasmanian government and supports small businesses in Tasmania to reduce emissions and participate in the circular economy.

    Bob and Gen are both contributors to the ALRP Journal and enjoy participating in the International Action Learning Conference and IFAL events throughout the year.

    You can read some of their publications here:

    https://actionlearning.edu.au/publications/ 

    ----

    This event will be recorded and made available to IFAL members in the Members Area of the IFAL website.

    Join us online in Zoom for an interactive 90 minute experience, facilitated by the IFAL team.

    Register now to receive your confirmation email, including a Zoom link to this event. A reminder with the same link will be sent to registrants 24 hours prior to the event.

    • 15 May 2024
    • 12:00 - 13:30 (UTC)
    • Online in Zoom
    Register

    INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR ACTION LEARNING
    is proud to present this event as part of our series
    'The International Varieties of Action Learning: Origins and Practices'

    The Origins, Growth, and Future of
    Action Learning in the USA

    presented by Michellana Jester and Yury Boshyk


    Join us for this fascinating two part event following the journey of action learning in the USA.

    Yury Boshyk will open the event with an overview of the origins and growth of Action Learning in the USA, including the relationships and influence of the founder of Action Learning, Reg Revans, with the country, its people and institutions from the 1920s onward. Yury will conclude with some observations on why Action Learning might yet have a bright future ahead.

    In the second part of the discussion, Michellana Jester from the MIT Sloan School will discuss the evolution to a deeper understanding of Action Learning at US Business Schools, where the term “action learning" has been used over the past few years to describe their experiential, hands-on, or project-based learning programs. These action learning courses provide the opportunity for student teams to take on real-world business challenges. For years, these types of courses have been the most sought-after business school offerings. However, following the COVID lockdowns, many business schools paused or suspended their action learning offerings. In the vacuum of this disruption, some school faculty and administrators began rethinking their action learning offerings, looking to better understand Revans and “classical" action learning to consider how to incorporate more Revans-informed Action Learning principles into their programs. Using data from more than 30 top US business schools, as well as in-depth interviews with faculty and alumni, this presentation will show key US business schools’ action learning course modifications since the COVID lockdown, the changes that are “sticking”, and implications for future business school courses and students.

    About Michellana

    Michellana Jester is a Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management (Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA) and Senior Partner with Global Executive Learning (Ontario, Canada). With more than two decades of management consulting, and organizational and leadership development experience, as well as more than a dozen years at MIT working with graduate students, Michellana designs innovative and impactful learning experiences to assist learners advance their personal and professional goals. As a strategic management consultant, Michellana assists organizations and business leaders facing complex challenges move to action. She has worked with private corporations, non-profit organizations, and public agency clients, specializing in leadership development, team building, and organizational change. Her consulting work also includes executive coaching, assisting leaders transition out of and into new roles.

    Michellana has written and presented her research on leadership, adult learning, human resource and organizational development in a variety of forums including Academy of Management, Institute for Experiential Learning, Financial Times, Fast Company, BizEd Magazine, and Psychology Today. She’s also a Distinguished Principal Researcher for The Conference Board.

    Michellana holds a Doctorate degree from Columbia University and a Master’s degree from Harvard University.

    About Yury

    CEO and founder of Global Executive Learning (GEL), consultant, author, educator, and executive coach. Boshyk defined and implements, a new and holistic approach to Action Learning --referred to as Business Driven Action Learning (BDAL). GEL, as a worldwide network of leading practitioners and subject matter experts, works and collaborates with leading companies in almost every region of the world and in a multitude of industries since 1990. Yury also chairs the annual Global Forum on Strategic Transformations, Leadership and Learning, a by-invitation-only and not-for-profit community of practice now in its 27th year.

    Formerly Professor of Strategy and International Environment of Business at IMD, Lausanne, Switzerland, Professor of Strategy and Director of Executive Education at the Theseus International Institute in France and enjoyed teaching at Harvard University, and the University of Toronto. His advisory activities include the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council, and the Editorial Advisory Board of the journal, Action Learning: Research and Practice. He recently joined the IFAL Executive Committee.

    He has published and speaks extensively on past, present, and future global issues, and has edited four books on Action Learning.

    Yury completed his doctorate at the University of Oxford, his M.Sc. degree at the London School of Economics, and his B.A. at the University of Toronto.

    This event will be recorded and made available to IFAL members in the Members Area of the IFAL website.

    Join us online in Zoom for an interactive 90 minute experience, facilitated by the IFAL team.

    Register now to receive your confirmation email, including a Zoom link to this event. A reminder with the same link will be sent to registrants 24 hours prior to the event.

Past events

7 Feb 2024 IFAL in Conversation with Bob Garratt
17 Jan 2024 IFAL in Conversation with Isabel Rimanoczy
5 Dec 2023 Stefaan van Hooydonk, founder of The Curiosity Institute
28 Nov 2023 Power in the virtual space – Implications for VAL
24 Oct 2023 Cafe IFAL with John Heywood
29 Sep 2023 Action learning in north America; growth & evolution
15 Jun 2023 Cafe IFAL with Julia Slay
23 Feb 2023 Action learning and the integration of health and social care systems
16 Nov 2022 The rise and growth of Revans' model and the future of 'classic' action learning
24 Oct 2022 Leadership in Motion and Action Reflection Learning
14 Sep 2022 The World Institute of Action Learning (WIAL) and Beyond
27 Jul 2022 In-Plant Action Learning with George Boulden
27 Jun 2022 Critical action learning – facilitation when complex emotions and power dynamics shape learning in organizations
25 May 2022 Co-development Action Learning and Its Impact in and Beyond the Francophone World
20 Apr 2022 IFAL in Conversation with Mike Pedler, Ann Mahon and John Edmonstone
23 Feb 2022 Cafe IFAL - How do cultural norms affect how we practice Action Learning?
8 Dec 2021 IFAL in Conversation with John O'Neil
3 Nov 2021 IFAL Presents: Action Learning and the Learning-Driven Business
3 Nov 2021 IFAL AGM 2021
22 Sep 2021 IFAL in Conversation: Transcending the Role: Personal Transformation of Action Learning Facilitators
21 Jul 2021 How can we ensure the learning of the set can have the widest impact in the organisation?
9 Dec 2020 IFAL's Second Global Dialogue
2 Dec 2020 Cafe IFAL - Action Learning & the Circular Economy
20 Oct 2020 IFAL Global Dialogue Series
16 Sep 2020 Cafe IFAL - Developing 21st Century skills through Action Learning
29 Jun 2020 Cafe IFAL - What is Business Driven Action Learning (BDAL) and Why Did I Develop It?
10 Jun 2020 IFAL Post Covid 19 Global Connection Series
13 May 2020 Coming together & Supporting each other
27 Apr 2020 Coming together & Supporting each other
14 Apr 2020 Coming together & Supporting each other
30 Mar 2020 Cafe IFAL - Are you seduced by content?: Balancing the 'doing' and the process in Action Learning.
26 Feb 2020 Annual General Meeting & Virtual Networking Event
12 Dec 2019 Cafe IFAL - Managing the Dilemmas Faced by Action Learning Set Facilitators
12 Sep 2019 Cafe IFAL - The Future of Action Learning is Virtual
10 Jun 2019 Cafe IFAL - Does AL need a facilitator?
19 Nov 2018 Annual General Meeting
19 Nov 2018 Cafe IFAL


IFAL in CONVERSATION

IFAL in Conversation is a new style of live online event that connects the best current Action Learning thinking, writing or practice, from around the world in an engaged informal format.

The event lasts 90 minutes and take place on the Zoom platfrom. This includes time for the Conversation, Q&A with the audience, followed by small breakout rooms for reflection and further discussion. The event will be recorded and made available to IFAL members in the Resources area of the IFAL website.

CAFE IFAL:
Practitioner Workshops

The Café IFAL virtual discussion forum is a place where Action Learning practitioners can share their experiences of using Action Learning in real situations. Everyone who comes along is encouraged to contribute to the debate in an informal ‘café’ atmosphere. The purpose of the forum is to join together to create, develop, and support communities of Action Learning practitioners around the world, and to learn and share with each other.

The format of this virtual event includes a brief presentation of a particular piece of Action Learning practice, followed by open discussion where we share related experience and create opportunities to learn with and from each other.

Sessions last 90 minutes and take place on the Zoom platform.  

Numbers are limited to 20 people. 

Costs are £10 for members and £20 for non-members. 

All fees go towards hosting further events


Our next Cafe IFAL: Practitioners Workshop will be announced soon.



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