Leading scholar in hope studies will impart methods from futures studies and positive psychology as well as skills from the field of positive education / Course counts as educational leave / Five block sessions between August and December, 2023
FUB-ContinuEd, the international continuing education program at Freie Universität Berlin, is set to offer a course titled "Positive Futures - Die Hoffnungswerkstatt" ("the hope workshop") in cooperation with the acclaimed scholar Dr. Andreas M. Krafft. The course will address socially relevant topics from futures studies and combine them with elements of positive psychology. The program is tailored to the professional needs of educators and youth workers in educational settings. It is made up of five block sessions that will be held in-person on the Freie Universität Berlin campus between August and December, 2023. The in-person course qualifies as educational leave (known as "Bildungszeit" in Berlin or "Bildungsurlaub" in Brandenburg). Additionally, participants from Brandenburg can apply for financial support, called "Bildungsschecks." The courses are subject to a fee and designed to fit around work and studies.Participants in the new FUB-ContinuEd course "Positive Futures - Die Hoffnungswerkstatt" will learn methods and tools to support young people in recognizing their own abilities and potential. In time, these young people will be able to build on this foundation to develop and make their visions of the future a reality. "Many young people seem to have lost faith in a meaningful global future," says Dr. Andreas M. Krafft, course director and researcher in futures studies. "They often lack positive visions for the future of a prosperous society." This results in negative feelings of anxiety, depression, and helplessness. That is why educators need to know how to empower young people to take an active and meaningful role in shaping the future and society they want to live in. The "Positive Futures - Die Hoffnungswerkstatt" course aims to help participants cope with the challenges this entails. Its target audience are educators and youth workers who deal with young people in schools, social organizations, recreation centers, and other educational settings.
Participants will gain knowledge of essential methods and approaches from positive psychology and futures studies and engage with these concepts on a personal level. The course will also feature content on how to foster young people’s individual and social well-being so that they can flourish. Participants will also learn about the PERMA model popularized by Martin Seligman and connect this with the UN’s seventeen global sustainable development goals. In addition, they will receive teaching materials like scripts, presentations, and exercises that they can use to convey the content and methods they have learned to young people in their day-to-day work.
"The goal of our ’Hoffnungswerkstatt’ is to instill a positive, hands-on attitude to the future among participants and the young people they work with in the long run," says Krafft. All content is based on current scientific findings. Participants receive a certificate from Freie Universität Berlin upon successful completion of the course.
Krafft teaches in the master’s program "Futures Studies" at Freie Universität Berlin and has also been a lecturer for many years at the universities of St. Gallen, Zurich, Basel, and Lisbon on topics such as the psychology of future thinking, hope, optimism, and positive psychology. He is co-president of swissfuture , the Swiss Association for Futures Research, and a board member of the Swiss Positive Psychology Association (SWIPPA ) as well as the German-speaking Association of Positive Psychology (DACH-PP e.V.) .
Courses offered through the international continuing education program FUB-ContinuEd are subject to a fee and designed to fit around work and studies. For participants in the region, there are attractive funding opportunities available.
Course dates
On-site course "Positive Futures - Die Hoffnungswerkstatt":Course and fee information: , flyer (in German), course syllabus (in German)
Venue: Freie Universität Berlin - Startup Villa Dahlem, Altensteinstraße 40, 14195 Berlin
Course language: German
Duration: August 18 - December 9, 2023 (registration deadline: July 21, 2023)
Time Schedule:
- Module 1: August 18 and 19, 2023
- Module 2: September 22 and 23, 2023
- Module 3: October 27 and 28, 2023
- Module 4: November 17 and 18, 2023
- Module 5: December 8 and 9, 2023
The course is recognized as "educational leave" in line with the Berliner Bildungszeitgesetz (BiZeitG) and the Brandenburger Bildungsurlaub (BbgWBG).
Employers and employees in Brandenburg who are interested can apply for financial support through the Bildungsscheck. Please refer to the flyer (in German) from the Ministry for Economic Affairs, Labor and Energy Brandenburg for further information.
Further FUB-ContinuEd offers - online courses:
Understanding Global Sustainability Challenges :September 4 - October 16, 2023 (registration deadline: August 7, 2023)
Storytelling for Diversity & Inclusion :
September 6 - October 18, 2023 (registration deadline: August 9, 2023)
Problem-Solving Skills for Multi-Stakeholder Challenges :
September 7 - October 19, 2023 (registration deadline: August 10, 2023)
Diversity Management in International Context :
September 11 - October 23, 2023 (registration deadline: August 14, 2023)
Switching Perspectives: Intercultural Communication and (Digital) Cross-Cultural Collaboration :
September 12 - October 24, 2023 (registration deadline: August 15, 2023)
Conflict Navigation through Mindful Communication :
October 2 - November 13, 2023 (registration deadline: September 4, 2023)
Wissenschaftliches Schreiben auf Deutsch :
October 12 - December 7, 2023 (registration deadline: September 14, 2023) For online courses, financial support is also possible in Brandenburg through the Bildungsscheck.
On-demand courses
Additional Information
About Freie Universität Berlin Continuing Education Program (FUB-ContinuEd) FUB-ContinuEd is an international continuing education program whose courses can easily be combined with full-time studies or work schedules. The program offers international certificate courses designed for people who would like to acquire academic knowledge and key skills to boost their professional and personal development. The contemporary teaching methods and topics conveyed in these courses enable participants to understand the pressing questions of our time, to learn from and with one another, and to successfully bring about long-term and necessary changes in the working world.continued.fu-berlin.de
