Greenleaf Career Bootcamp

The need for educated, empowered, effective persons working toward sustainability and restoration has never been as great as it is right now.  We need serious people who know how to succeed and work together for maximum impact. 

People want to feel that their careers make a difference and have an impact they can take pride in. At the same time, the job market is changing, with environment, sustainability, and technology being key job creators in the coming decades and creative thinking being one of the most important priorities for workplace development.

Greenleaf Career Bootcamp is designed to help students take advantage of these trends and their own aptitudes and abilities through a combination of project-based and experiential learning.

The aims of the course are to assist students in securing successful, prosperous careers that generate applied solutions, and provide them with skills and tools for ongoing professional development.

Program duration – 13- 14 days – 90 Contact hours

Target group

Undergraduates, graduate students, and professionals. We seek to create diverse interdisciplinary groups.

 Pre-requisites 

Undergraduate or higher standing in a related discipline; such as sustainability, environmental design, environmental management, biology, conservation, ecology, engineering, forestry, industrial ecology, corporate sustainability, policy, community development, anthropology, communications, business, etc. Students who do not neatly fit in the preceding description of pre-requisites will be considered on a case by case basis.       

Course fees

$3,950 US dollars. Includes all accommodations, meals, ground transport, airport transfers, course materials, activities, tours, and several recreational activities to help you enjoy and experience Costa Rica. Transportation to and from Costa Rica and spending money is not included.

Introduction

Students and professionals often lack key skills necessary for success in careers which protect our environment and create a sustainable future. This course works to close gaps through workshops, field experience, discussions, presentations, self-assessment, and direct contact with effective and successful environmental professionals.

 Students who complete the course will gain skills for maximizing their effectiveness in implementing their projects and ideas by using proven tools and lessons learned over decades of environmental work – combined with their own ability to create, innovate, and design.

We will mix site visits with discussions, presentations, and case study-based workshops. Many of these case studies will be those provided by the student’s own project ideas, allowing them to share and develop their plans and solutions in a constructive and analytical setting, with critiques by the group, course leader, and guest experts.    

Rationale

Critical global issues need successful professionals to create and implement solutions to achieve sustainable development. This course addresses this need through two focus areas in career development:

Using exercises created by Sir Ken Robinson, students will assess themselves and different career options, identify career directions that will be fulfilling, identify their aptitudes, set goals,  and create a plan to develop their abilities to achieve those goals.

We have identified ten key topics that frequently are not adequately understood and addressed by professionals in the field. These topics have been chosen based on decades of experience and analysis. We want our students to avoid the mistakes many have made before them by showing them these keys to implementing effective solutions.

Goals and Objectives

Students will complete exercises, questions, and self-assessments created by Sir Ken Robinson. They will practice each of these and discuss their results individually and in group settings. They will have time to revisit and refine their results during the course, incorporating lessons learned from the course activities, interactions with one another, the course leader, and mentorship sessions. They will produce a personal career profile based on their results and have the tools and support to continue to develop their plan as they move forward in their careers.

Students will develop a fundamental understanding of each of the ten key topics below through presentations, discussions, and workshops based on case studies, and site visits. They will acquire the skills, tools, and resources to further investigate and develop their understanding and command of each of them as they move forward:

1. Interdisciplinary Environmental Analysis and Problem-Solving – Analytical models, cognitive tools, decision-making models

2. Creativity Tools for Individual and Groups – Creative thinking practices and tools for individual and group applications

3. Natural Capital and Payment for Ecosystem Services – How can they be used and what are their ethical and practical limitations

4. Life Cycle Analysis – Footprinting and use of LCA to stimulate innovation 

5. Corporate Sustainability and Business Economics – Making the “business case” for sustainability

6. Project Management Fundamentals – An established set of tools and a common language for developing ideas into reality

7. Business Plan writing and budgeting
8. Effective Environmental Communications -Design, branding, social media, presentation skills

9. The connections between Sustainability and Social Justice and where to find leverage
10. Entrepreneurship skills – creating your own job and thinking like an entrepreneur

Students will learn to anticipate challenges and objections to design effective interdisciplinary solutions. Environmental professionals must be able to communicate their case effectively to a variety of stakeholders, including policymakers, the public, and the business sector, to achieve the results they want.

Required Materials

Laptop computer or tablet – project(s) and topic information from home on one or more solutions or themes the student wishes to craft and develop. All other course materials will be provided.

 Learning Outcomes

Students will demonstrate a fundamental understanding of each of their aptitudes, abilities, and career goals and objectives and will create a personal career plan. To support them in achieving career success they will become familiar with the ten key topics and acquire the ability, tools, and resources to further investigate and develop their understanding and command of each of them. 

Participants will create a personal toolkit of resources to use in building their careers toward success based on the assessment of their strengths, challenges, abilities, and passion. Through the course activities, and their capstone project, students will demonstrate their command of the course materials. They will also become part of our community of support, gaining valuable links and contacts for their future.

 Assessment and Evaluation

Students will be evaluated by their peers, the course leader, and themselves on the basis of their participation, professionalism, commitment, and their capstone project. Students who complete the course will be issued a certificate of completion and a written evaluation.