As wonderful and welcoming as ever: Schumacher in 2011

Next year, 2011, is the 20th anniversary of the opening of Schumacher College. It is also the centenary of the birth of E.F. Schumacher, the author of Small is Beautiful, whose work was an inspiration in the founding of the College. There is much to celebrate and we look forward to announcing details of our anniversary programme over the coming months. We are ever mindful of the major economic and environmental issues facing our world and remain encouraged by our friends and supporters that now, more than ever, our College can play a leadership role in addressing these issues.

As you will see from the article below we are very excited to announce our new Masters in sustainable economics. This programme has grown out of a central theme of our work over the last twenty years – the consequences of unsustainable models of economic development. We are also designing a new Masters programme building upon our Schumacher Certificate in Education for Sustainability. Both Masters will open for recruitment later this year for those wanting to enrol in 2011.

As part of our expansion plans, we want to offer a wider range of courses with more options to participate either on site or remotely through open learning access. We plan, for example, to expand our postgraduate courses to complement our MSc in Holistic Science and short course programme. We will also be developing more courses offering practical skills in areas such as food production and farming, and on renewable energy and eco-housing. This month we are appointing our first Open Learning Manager, who will identify new ways for our students to access teaching and learning support who are either unable to or do not wish to travel. This project will run alongside our emerging Schumacher Worldwide programme, which we look forward to telling you a lot more about in the coming months.

Many of you have enjoyed coming to the Old Postern since 1991. This has been a wonderful and deeply loved home for Schumacher College. However, it is both in need of costly renovation and too small to allow us to expand and offer a range of new programmes. So in July 2011, we are planning to say goodbye to the Old Postern.

Many of our programmes will remain at Dartington, where we are currently located. In August 2011, we will move to another building on the Dartington estate. We shall also be finding a second new home close by and will announce details of this very soon. We are already working on how to retain the essence of the Schumacher experience in these two new locations. We know that we can’t replace the Old Postern, but we welcome the support of past and future participants in making our new homes as wonderful and welcoming as ever.

We greatly value the support of our thousands of alumni, as well as those who will sign up for our courses in years to come. We plan to update you regularly through the newsletter and website to keep you informed of our plans.

Please visit our website to read about our new programmes and Frequently Asked Questions. If you would like more information, please contact us at twenty.years@schumachercollege.org.uk. While we are a small team, we will get back to you as soon as we can.

Click for info on…

+ Schumacher’s newly announced Masters in Economics
+ Open Evening – Read more about The Be-wildered Leader with Tim ‘Mac’ Macartney
+ Short Course – To Buy or Not to Buy? Consumption, Growth and Prosperity
+ Short Course – Tracking the Past, Meeting the Future: Rediscovering our indigenous roots
+ Article – Relationships: the key to sustainability solutions