Origins

Since 1996 Comenius has been organising, together with leading universities and research institutes from Europe, America and China, courses that are rooted in the academic tradition of research and dialogue. The courses draw on the classic sources of wisdom and are inspired by the seven liberal arts or septem artes liberales

Comenius Courses are intended for executives: experienced directors and managers from the public and private sectors such as chief executives and executive board members, supervisory board members, (staff) executives, senior partners and business unit managers.

To be eligible for a Comenius Course, an academic level of professional and educational experience is required.

Participants who have successfully completed a Comenius Course will join the alumni network: the Comenius Academy. Exclusive activities and lectures ensure that the inspiration, reflection and insights which have been acquired during a Comenius Course stay vital and relevant.

The Comenius alumni or ‘Comenians’ are strong people with a clear vision. They share a strong ambition and drive; they have an open and enquiring mind and a broad perspective. Together they are free thinkers, who ‘want to explore everything’.

Comenius is affiliated with the University of Groningen and is accordingly also a member of the Coimbra Group, an association of Europe‘s best, multi-disciplinary universities. The Coimbra Group provides access to the League of European Research Universities.

The AOG Foundation (for Groningen Academic Courses), which was founded in 1988 by the Board of the University of Groningen, supervises the academic quality of the Comenius courses.

Jan Amos Komensky: Comenius

The collaborative and cross-disciplinary approach of Comenius Courses is inspired by the thinking and writing of the great European uomo universale and teacher Jan Amos Komensky (1592-1670). He believed inspirational leadership to be vital, especially in times of chaos and disorder. He called on leaders to see the interconnectedness of separate problems and to collectively strive towards solutions through oversight and vision. In this regard he stated that there is nothing on earth that man with the gift of his senses and mind wouldn’t be able to do.

Comenius, who was born in 1592 in what is known today as the Czech Republic, was himself the classic example of the ‘homo universalis’: the founder of modern pedagogy. His educational ideas are still used throughout the world and form the foundation of the Comenius Courses.

When Komensky wrote his masterpiece Labyrinth of the World in 1623, he imagined the world as a city whose streets represent the different streams in society. Although the separate streams seemed clear and unambiguous in their behaviour, disorder and alienation prevailed in the city; the people at street level just could not see the other streams. Comenius advised his readers to climb a tower and to observe from there the chaos and folly, but also the interconnectedness of the different streams.

These observations are according to Comenius the basis for science, wisdom and effective decision-making. The ability to first see and observe and think inductively, to interpret and subsequently understand is essential to Comenius’ vision and legacy. This ability is the only thing, he states, that can lead our intellect to wisdom and insight.

Vision

Confucius once wrote that knowledge is not true wisdom: “True wisdom goes beyond knowledge”. This is a sharply defined statement, yet it’s not clear-cut. But it is something that we recognise.

More and more executives notice that wise and experienced leadership also requires reflection in addition to knowledge and analytical ability, and that distance and the courage to suspend the forming of an opinion or judgement is also required. And this is also about the willingness to think across the disciplines.

They see that giving space to others and to different views sharpens one’s own vision, bolsters support and optimises achieving results. Looking with an open mind at the other side of the coin and the interconnectedness of things is fundamental in this respect. The same as the willingness to see vision, strategy and realisation as parts of an evolutionary process: never static or absolute, but flowing and dynamic.

Comenius will be happy to guide you during this process of exploration and enquiry. We will do this with attention and dedication and by providing high-quality academic courses. For these courses we have put together a faculty with excellent and inspired researchers, from the Netherlands and abroad. We have moderators who have the required expertise and who will provide personal attention in facilitating your learning path.

Comenius pays a lot of attention to how the groups are put together. For this we bring together people from different backgrounds in the public and private domains, who have an academic level in their thinking and work and who have a more or less similar attitude or mindset. Comenius sees its groups as a ‘micro-cosmos’ which reflects the complexity and interactivity of society (‘macro-cosmos’).

Central ingredients in the development of vision and leadership in the Comenius Courses are:

  1. Paradigms and paradigmatic changes. The ability to critically examine and redefine contexts as a basic feature of leadership;
  2. Diversity, complexity and cohesion. Insight into the connectedness between different knowledge areas, observations and ‘truths’ as a prerequisite for leadership;
  3. 'Universitas'. Considering the different insights and experiences between participants as the building block of methodical experience and learning.

Method

Comenius invites reflection on one’s own leadership, on contemporizing this and expanding the repertoire of ‘modes’ that are required for leadership and vision in leading positions. To do this Comenius chooses a method ‘from within’, strives to touch you and make you look at the world in a different way.

Unlike other business schools, which mostly operate from business-economic principles, Comenius is based on principles of the classic, cross-disciplinary university. The university traditionally stimulates the development of interdisciplinary and fundamental knowledge, multi-faceted education, orientation on fundamental questions which yield ground-breaking insights, and a learning environment within which learning from each other is also important. Comenius sees this academic tradition as a source of inspiration and innovation.

Leading academics give thought-provoking lectures which stimulate self-reflection and invite you to review trusted views. Philosophers train you in the Socratic dialogue, in which quick judgements are replaced by listening, interpretation and analysis.

Experienced moderators facilitate the learning process of the participant. They also foster interaction among the participants and create a trusted, safe and open atmosphere: that of an inspirational haven. For the European leadership course, the Chinese leadership course and the Santa Fe Institute leadership course there is also a ‘module coordinator’ besides the moderator. The module coordinator is an authority in the relevant knowledge area, who positions the different speakers and who monitors the academic quality of the course.

Moderators

mr. Jan Willem Weck
mr. Jan Willem Weck
Edsart Krijger
Edsart Krijger
Monica Bakker
Monica Bakker
drs. Eric Verwaal
drs. Eric Verwaal
Mieke Moor
Mieke Moor
drs. Jos van Deursen
drs. Jos van Deursen
drs. Frank van den Ende
drs. Frank van den Ende
ir. Kick Visser
ir. Kick Visser
Margreet van Dongen
Margreet van Dongen
mr. Pim Perquin
mr. Pim Perquin
Margo van Eijck
Margo van Eijck
drs. Ivo Korte
drs. Ivo Korte
Rob van Eijbergen
Rob van Eijbergen
drs. Henk Schildkamp
drs. Henk Schildkamp
Tarek El Baradi
Tarek El Baradi
Clovis Hopman
Clovis Hopman
Erik Koenen
Erik Koenen
Lia Genee
Lia Genee
Ronald Simons
Ronald Simons
Wim Plaizier
Wim Plaizier
Qader Shafiq
Qader Shafiq
Teresa Fogelberg
Teresa Fogelberg
Diederick Croese
Diederick Croese

Organisation

Pieter-Matthijs Gijsbers<br/>Director
Pieter-Matthijs Gijsbers
Director
Cristel van de Gevel <br/>Manager Operations
Cristel van de Gevel
Manager Operations
Clara Smits<br/>Advisor Leadership Development
Clara Smits
Advisor Leadership Development
Karen Meulenkamp <br/>Advisor Leadership Development
Karen Meulenkamp
Advisor Leadership Development
Esther de Ruyter <br/> Manager Customization
Esther de Ruyter
Manager Customization
Monica Bakker<br/>Moderator
Monica Bakker
Moderator
Ina Kurvers-ten Berge <br/>Programdeveloper
Ina Kurvers-ten Berge
Programdeveloper
Jacobien van Dorp <br/>Programdeveloper
Jacobien van Dorp
Programdeveloper
Erik Boers <br/>Programdeveloper
Erik Boers
Programdeveloper
Victor Gijsbers <br/>Programdeveloper
Victor Gijsbers
Programdeveloper
Claudia Klerkx <br/> Community Manager
Claudia Klerkx
Community Manager
Tessa van der Heijden <br/>Program coördinator
Tessa van der Heijden
Program coördinator
Laura Noorman<br/>Program coördinator
Laura Noorman
Program coördinator
Maaike Otto<br/>Programdeveloper
Maaike Otto
Programdeveloper
Denne Rabbi<br/>Program coördinator
Denne Rabbi
Program coördinator
Shelan Elich <br/>Programmacoördinator
Shelan Elich
Programmacoördinator
Maartje van Ginkel <br/> Program coördinator
Maartje van Ginkel
Program coördinator
Elizabeth Germs  <br/>Content Marketeer
Elizabeth Germs
Content Marketeer
Marleen Lehmann<br>Junior Programdeveloper
Marleen Lehmann
Junior Programdeveloper

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