Please note that this program runs in partnership with MITx so you need to register both on the u-school for Transformation website as on edX platform. 

edX is the platform hosting the course. There you will find videos, readings and short exercises, and you will also be able to register for a verified certificate from MITx if you choose to do so. 

The u-school website is the companion platform. Here you will be able to meet and interact with others through the discussion board, find a coaching circle, sign up for the listening assessment and access the key tools and practices.

Check the program structure and timeline below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leading From the Emerging Future

“Many of us sense that the civilization we are a part of is hitting the wall... we want to be part of a different story - we just don’t know how.” 

- Otto Scharmer

Why join?

  • The program runs from September to December. It is a 14-week course completely free to attend, with an optional possibility to apply for a (paid) MITx verified certificate.

  • The program is an introduction to a method called Theory U, developed at MIT, for leading change in business, government, and civil society contexts worldwide. It is run by Senior Lecturers at MIT, Senior Faculty and expert Practitioners from the u-school for Transformation (by Presencing Institute) who are actively engaged in cross-sectorial societal transformation.

  • This program has attracted around 200,000 enrollments from around the world, with over 185 countries represented, since its launch in 2015. 

  • u-lab 1x is an interactive program with live sessions and activities in self-organized local or interest-based hubs where prototype seeding can take place to activate the transformation that needs to happen at a community level.

  • Although this is a program in English, the community has been kindly volunteering to translate the materials in more and more languages, helping remove language barriers.

  • The program focuses fully on the specific challenges of our current moment and on how to apply Theory U to the absencing patterns in our cultures and societies for a transformation that benefits all.

  • The program is free, thanks for the contributions of our partners and supporters that also believe that is possible to create and scale profound societal innovation.

  • The program is part of the Pathways of Certification offered by the u-school for Transformation.
Overview


Join a 14-week global / multi-local journey of “learning by doing" where you get familiar with the methods and principles of Theory U and cultivate your ability to apply its tools, methods, and frameworks to the most pressing challenges of our time. 

Whether you’re working to transform business, society, or self, u-lab 1x is designed to deepen your capacities and give you practical experience for enacting awareness-based systems change. While most strategies of change focus on optimizing the past, u-lab gives us the tools to sense into and lead from the future that is wanting to emerge.

Today's challenges call for profound innovation across all societal sectors. Rethinking, reinventing and evolving the way we operate in our society requires a profound shift in how we think, engage and act (activating the intelligence of the head, heart, and hand). Join the program and a global community of people who sense that another world is possible.

u-lab 1x is run in partnership with MITx. Click above to join us. 

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Featured


The course will feature: 

  • 4 monthly live broadcast sessions of 60-75 minutes, 6 self-paced modules of pre-recorded materials, and methods and tools that allow for immediate practical application. The program requires a commitment of about 4-6 hours per week.
  • Each of the 6 modules will feature an exploration of the phases of the U journey. The course content will be released at the beginning of September. 
  • The journey will begin in September and end in December.
  • As the program is run in partnership with MITx, please note that you will need to register both in the u-school for Transformation platform (this current website) and on MITx platform. The live broadcast sessions and the 6 modules will be available in MITX, and the methods & tools for you to put into application with your hub or local context, it will be available in this u-school website.

Program Structure and Timeline

The Orientation Module will be made available on September 1st. All other Modules will be made available on September 8th. While you can complete the course at your own pace, the instructors will facilitate Live Sessions on a monthly basis - as indicated below.


Orientation Module:

In this Introduction to u-lab, you will learn how to use and navigate the social and community elements of the course, and you will find some guidelines to get familiar with the edX platform.


Module 1: Co-Initiating

This module is the actual start of the course, and it consists of an introduction to the deeper sources of our current global challenges. You will learn about the art and practice of deep listening, and set your intention for the journey ahead. There will be a Live Session on September 22nd that corresponds to Module 1.


Module 2: Co-Sensing

To sense into your current context, in this module you will learn how to gather data by suspending and listening through practices such as learning journeys and stakeholder interviews. The second half of this module will teach you how to make sense of the data you generate using Social Presencing Theater.


Module 3: Presencing

At the bottom of the U, you will be guided to retreat and reflect, allowing deeper sources of knowledge to emerge by connecting with a future possibility that is in need of us. There will be a Live Session on October 20th that corresponds to Module 3.


Module 4: Co-Creating

To move upwards after the profound phase of Presencing, in this module you will learn how to stay connected to your deeper sources of inspiration and pay attention in a way that will enable you to move from idea to action -- learning by doing. This module also describes practices to engage in prototyping activities to generate feedback that will help you evolve your inspiration / idea. In a nutshell, this module contains principles to support the evolution from an idea, to a prototype, to an initiative with the potential to scale.


Module 5: Co-Evolving

We all know about many episodes and stories of great transformational change and breakthrough. But at the end of the day they remain merely that: episodes. Sooner or later the larger system snaps back into the old way of operating. Unless the deeper root issues are addressed, transformational episodes may lack the conditions to spread across the remaining system. How to attend to these root issues while prototyping is the question we will explore in this Module. There will be a Live Session on November 17th that corresponds to Module 5.


Module 6: The Journey Ahead

What is emerging globally from u-lab 1x and what is needed to carry momentum forward? What are the next steps in the u-lab journey? There will be a final Live Session on December 8th addressing these questions.

 

Certificate:

Deadline for the verified certificate of completion track is December 15th.

 

Enroll on edX

Want to know more? Check the General Course Information