SLA Overview
WHAT
IS SLA?
The
School for Leaders Association is a non-profit organisation whose mission is to develop responsible
social leadership ("civil society") in Poland by educating promising young leaders in
skills that are not offered by the existing educational system but are fundamental to the
nation's future success. The school
was founded in 1994 by Dr Z.A. Pelczynski, OBE, Emeritus Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford
University in Great Britain. SLA's
principal values are: entrepreneurship, professionalism, pragmatism, tolerance of diversity,
respect for democratic institutions and procedures and for public ethics.
WHO
BENEFITS FROM SLA?
Students
Men and
women typically aged 20-35 who have demonstrated significant ability to initiate local activities
or manage public organisations. Candidates are selected through a competitive procedure which is
designed to be impartial; application forms are screened by an experienced board of selectors and
followed up by personal interviews. One of the selection priorities is the acceptance of young
leaders from less developed regions of Poland.
Since
1994 over 550 have attended summer schools (2-3 weeks long) and over 1000 have attended advanced,
specialist or youth workshops.
Business and Polish Society as a whole
Alumni
of the SLA courses are today on very promising career courses in major foreign companies in Poland
(e.g. Accenture, IBM, law firms), performing important state functions in local and regional
self-government and assisting central government ministers, parliamentary leaders or city
presidents.
The
ultimate aim is to motivate young leaders to work with others regardless of personal interests and
political differences, and develop their skills in working across these psychological barriers to
achieve both mutual benefit and help the common good. The work of the SLA and its results have been
widely reported in the Polish media and also noted abroad (e.g. Britain, Australia,
Japan).
WHAT
SKILLS ARE TAUGHT ON SLA COURSES?
There
are two types of training courses: summer schools and short workshops.. Summer courses typically
last 2-3 weeks, and are usually at a secluded training centre not far from the capital Warsaw.
These courses concentrate on:
Summer
courses are the flagship product of School for Leadership Association.
Short workshops last from 1 - 3 days and are
focussed on specific skills, e.g. lobbying in Brussels, running NGOs, promoting local development,
understanding European integration.
All courses are designed to be practical and
interactive, and are always very time intensive.
WHO
RUNS SLA?
The
curriculum for each course is designed by the SLA management board, assisted by outside
specialists. Lecturers are selected from Polish academic circles and trainers from reputed business
training companies (e.g. Partners Polska or Impact). Zbigniew Pelczynski, former professor of
political science at Oxford University, personally supervises all course preparation and execution
and keeps abreast current methodologies through contacts with leading British leadership training
or promoting organisations (e.g. Impact, The Industrial Society, The Windsor Leadership
Trust).
HOW IS
SLA FINANCED?
Summer
courses cost around 7000 PLN per participant. Students contribute 1000 PLN tuition fee (but this
can be waived in case of hardship) and the remainder comes from sponsorship. To date sponsors have
mainly been national and international aid funds such as the Soros, Stefan Batory and Lanckoronski
Foundations, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and national aid funds provided by Great Britain, the
USA, Canada, The Netherlands and Norway. Short workshops are financed by specific grants.
Since
1998 businesses operating in Poland have taken the lead in supporting SLA, mainly by sponsoring
specific students previously chosen by the SLA selection board (PricewaterhouseCoopers, Siemens,
BP, HSBC, Commercial Union, ABN AMRO Bank, Computer Associates). Over 1m USD has been raised over
the past 8 years.
The
reservoir of young talent in Poland is vast; the eagerness to learn from the experience of the West
is huge; the SLA is therefore continuously looking for.
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