Sem02 (2025-2026) Personal Leadership*

Course details

• Practical information

  Academic year
  2025-2026

  Semester
  2

  Period
  4, 5

  Participation
  Also open for 1st year students

  Day(s)
  Wednesday and 1 Saturday (11 April)

  Time
  17:30 – 19:30
  10:00 – 17:00  (Saturday, with a break)

  Number of meetings
  12 

  Dates of all meetings
  25 Feb; 4, 11, 18 March; 1, 8, 11, 15, 22 April; 6, 13, 20 May

  Location
  Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam

  Room

  Wednesdays Feb and March	25 Feb, 4, 11, 18 Mar;	NU-3B07
  Wednesdays Apr and May	1, 8, 15, 22 Apr; 6, 13, 20 May	NU-6A25
  Saturday	11 Apr	NU-3A47

  Credits
  6

  Course Coordinator

  Ma. M. Moerman (coordinator) - yourunyourworld@gmail.com

  Lecturers

  To be announced

• Learning objectives

  Upon completion of the course, you are able to:

  • Give an outline of your own context and how this came to be: what are the leading values, habits and principles that guide them.
  • Grow an understanding of the different forces involved and how they dynamically affect each other; your own will, the will of parents, the direction of the curriculum, the force of ‘the society etc.
  • Know how to relate constructively to change and failure, and how to create the optimal learning environment for yourself and others
  • Know how to (start to) take lead of all these forces to become the writer of your own life story

• Working formats & structure

  General:

  • Self-study
  • Working independently on e.g. a project or thesis
  • Supervision/feedback meeting
  • Seminar
  • Different reflection forms

  Specific:

  • To pass this course, we have a minimum of 85% attendance as a rule (max 2 tutorials). If you pass this mark, you will be excluded from the course. Attendance is compulsory for tutorials: through your participation, you actively contribute to the vibrant learning community we foster. Your contribution and attendance largely determine the quality of the educational activities and your chances of successfully completing the course. Furthermore, the tutorials mainly focus on class discussions and group assignments. The material is not just limited to literature, but also involves articulating and applying the ideas, theories, and concepts from the literature. Therefore, the quality of the tutorials largely depends on the attendance, preparation, and active participation of every student.

• Assessment methods

  This course refrains from grading, as we think personal development is not gradable in our setup. We do have an assessment for the end assignment, but that will be only on the level of pass/fail. It will be an assessment by the teachers and a few peers. 85% Attendance and submitting all assignments are required to pass. All assignments can be found in the Course Guide, Canvas

• Fraud and Plagiarism

  With regard to fraud and plagiarism, the VU Student Charter (Chapter 10) and the rules and regulations of the Examination Board of the faculty that offers the course, apply. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board will be informed.

• Attendance expectations

  • Be present at all lectures and work groups. Make sure to inform your teacher as soon as possible if you cannot attend a class due to special circumstances. If you are absent for two lectures and/or work groups, or over 15 % of all meetings, the teacher can assign an additional task or deny further participation.
  • Active participation in the seminars and class discussions plays a crucial role in student learning in the course, and in the student’s ability to reach the course objectives: attendance, preparation, and active in-class participation will therefore form part of the course assessment.

• Study materials

  Several texts, films and mainly: yourself in various exercises