Running in-person programmes like this is time-consuming and expensive. Is it worth it?
I have two main uncertainties:
Can we get truly exceptional people ‘in the room’?
Can we successfully encourage long-term engagement with the question of how we can do the most good?
We’re making good headway on the first of these. This year, applications have skyrocketed to around 700 so far (up from 174 in 2022), competing for ~50 places. Most of these applications are from people new to Leaf, but we’ll also have some of the most engaged or promising participants from our earlier online programmes attending, plus some returnees from last year. Longer-term, I hope to develop a pipeline of various (online) programmes and competitions all feeding into identifying a truly exceptional cohort for the residentials.
It’s early days to comment on engagement relative to last year, but I’m optimistic about some of the variations we’ll be trying, such as the mentorship programme. Of course, success here depends on building up a great team of staff, speakers, and mentors. Refer back to “Join our team” above!
Running in-person programmes like this is time-consuming and expensive. Is it worth it?
I have two main uncertainties:
Can we get truly exceptional people ‘in the room’?
Can we successfully encourage long-term engagement with the question of how we can do the most good?
We’re making good headway on the first of these. This year, applications have skyrocketed to around 700 so far (up from 174 in 2022), competing for ~50 places. Most of these applications are from people new to Leaf, but we’ll also have some of the most engaged or promising participants from our earlier online programmes attending, plus some returnees from last year. Longer-term, I hope to develop a pipeline of various (online) programmes and competitions all feeding into identifying a truly exceptional cohort for the residentials.
It’s early days to comment on engagement relative to last year, but I’m optimistic about some of the variations we’ll be trying, such as the mentorship programme. Of course, success here depends on building up a great team of staff, speakers, and mentors. Refer back to “Join our team” above!