u-lab 2025-2026
Leading From the Emerging Future
At a Glance
This MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) run in partnership with MIT Learn is a 8-week program on the foundations of Theory U, a process for transformative change that blends systems thinking, consciousness and wisdom traditions, and civic action. It is a “learning by doing" program where you get familiar with Theory U tools, methods, and frameworks and start cultivating your ability to apply them to your life and work. This is an online self-paced course complemented with synchronous live sessions bringing together thousands of change makers from around the world.
Sep 25, 2025 – May 30, 2026
Online Only
Your u-lab 1x journey is supported by two online spaces. This program is a partnership between MIT Learn and u-school for Transformation.
Here on u-school, you will connect with other participants, form a coaching circle if you don’t have one, engage in dialogue and access the tools and methods introduced in the course.
“Many of us feel that we want to be part of a different story - we just don’t know how. u-lab is all about the ‘how.’
- Otto Scharmer
Why Join?
- The program starts in September. It is designed as a 8-week program completely free to attend, with an optional possibility to apply for a (paid) MIT Learn verified certificate.
- The u-lab 1x program and all materials are available at no cost. The option exists to pursue a verified certificate from MIT Learn for a fee of $99.
- 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 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 to 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 to the contributions of our partners and supporters who also believe that it 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.
About this Course
Change is happening really fast. Whether it’s climate and ecological concerns; shifts in our local and global economies; technologically and the impacts of AI; social and political polarization; or geopolitical turmoil - we live in times of accelerating uncertainty, disruption, and complexity.
Something is ending, collapsing, and dying while something else is in the process of being born. What’s ending is a civilization that is based on extraction and disconnection. What’s being born is another civilization that is based on connection, collaboration - and regeneration. Getting from here to there requires us to go deep: to address root causes of society’s dysfunction and to shift the underlying systems.
- How can we learn to lead in these times?
- What are the skills, capacities, and resources that will support us?
- Where are the individuals, groups, and organizations that we can connect and collaborate with?
u-lab supports change-makers globally with the tools, methods, and spaces to bring about meaningful transformations in the communities, organizations, and systems they care deeply about.
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Through u-lab 1x, individuals and groups around the world are guided through a learning-by-doing experience where they apply the methods and tools of Theory U to issues that matter to them, building their capacity to lead transformative change in the process.
Timeline
- September 11, 2025: The Orientation Module will be made available two weeks prior the first live session starts, so you can get acquainted with the course format and platform before we begin.
- September 25 - November 20, 2025: Facilitated u-lab 1x course, including live broadcast sessions from MIT (8 weeks duration). All program materials will be made available.
- Live Sessions:
- Thursday, September 25 | 10 am - 11.30 am ET: Live Session 1
- Thursday, October 23 | 10 am - 11.30 am ET: Live Session 2
- Thursday, November 20 | 10 am - 11.30 am ET: Live Session 3
- Ask-Us-Anything Sessions (optional):
- Thursday, October 9th | 9am-10am ET: Ask-Us-Anything 1
- Thursday, November 6th | 9am-10am ET: Ask-Us-Anything 2
- Thursday, December 4th | 9am-10am ET: Ask-Us-Anything 3
- Live Sessions:
- November 20, 2025 - May 30, 2026: the course will be available as a self-paced learning experience. The course will not be monitored on that period.
What You’ll Learn
- Self-knowledge: The leadership capacity that matters most
- Practices to cultivate deep listening, precise observation, and dialogue
- Methods for creating innovations that generate wellbeing in society
Prerequisites
None.
Important Note
Your u-lab 1x journey is supported by two platforms.
Here on the u-school for Transformation platform, you will connect with other participants, form a coaching circle if you don’t have one, engage in dialogue and access the tools and methods introduced in the course. Please register for u-lab 1x here.
On the MIT Learn platform, you will find all of the course content and will be guided through each of the five modules that make up u-lab 1x. If you are pursuing a verified certificate from MIT Learn, this is also where you will track your work.
Once you have registered for u-school for Transformation, you will be redirected to register for u-lab 1x on MIT Learn. Note: you will leave the u-school for Transformation website.
For any questions please write to: u-lab@presencing.org.