Sixth edition the Leadership School

The sixth edition of the Leadership School began with an in-person meeting on October 10-11, 2020. However, due to the tightening of national safety measures and the continued development of the Covid-19 pandemic, the in-person sessions were suspended. Subsequently, an additional element was introduced to ensure continuity-regular online meetings. For the first time in the project’s history, lectures were conducted online as part of the Leadership School. From November 2020 to June 2021, 15 online Saturday meetings were held. During the summer break (July-August 2021), online classes were suspended. Later, we resumed in-person meetings in the standard format, which took place on September 18-19, 2021, October 9-10, 2021, November 6-7, 2021, and November 20-21, 2021. The final meeting of the 6th edition of the School took place on December 4, 2021, during which diplomas were awarded to the participants who completed the training.

The classes were conducted in five thematic tracks: leadership, economy, Poland and the world, politics, and communication. Throughout the edition, the program covered topics related to international relations, diplomacy, security, digitization, business, and leadership. The sessions included top international experts discussing China, Russia, the USA, Ukraine, Germany, and geopolitics. During the in-person meetings, sessions were led by Wiktor Janicki, Maciej Witucki, Adam Eberhardt, Prof. Andrzej Zybertowicz, Wojciech Hann, Bogusław Chrabota, Radosław Pyffel, Jadwiga Emilewicz, Jan Śpiewak, Michał Brański, Prof. Katarzyna Pisarska, Jakub Kumoch, Marek Budzisz, Maciej Kawecki, and Prof. Andrew Michta.

In the 6th edition, a new element was introduced into the program—informal evening meetings with top journalists, writers, and experts from various fields. These meetings were organized at the Freedom Lounge and took the form of discussions with invited guests. Discussions were held with Dariusz Rosiak, Jakub Strzyczkowski, Piotr Cieszewski, and Łukasz Warzecha. During the pandemic restrictions, online meetings were conducted. The online sessions were led by Rafał Ferber, Artur Kurasiński, Paweł Przewięźlikowski, Bernard Fruga, Robert Kozak, Ireneusz Osiński, Cezary Kaźmierczak, Olaf Osica, Witold Jurasz, Beata Górka-Winter, and Agnieszka Legucka.

Specialized workshops coordinated by the edition’s partner, Roche Polska, were also conducted during the online sessions. Participants independently chose workshop topics that matched their interests and needs. Initially, 10 topics were identified. Subsequently, 10-person workshop groups were created in 7 subjects based on participants’ demand. Each group worked with a selected trainer during a minimum of 2 to 4 workshop meetings. The workshops were led by top experts, both managers from the company and trainers collaborating with the company. All in-person meetings during the 6th edition of the Leadership School took place thanks to the program’s Partner, PKO Bank Polski, in the modern conference room at the bank’s main headquarters on Puławska Street in Warsaw.