Future Ready Leadership for Sustainability

Build a sustainable future with regenerative leadership

The world is changing at an unprecedented pace. Ecosystems are under pressure, industries are shifting, and traditional ways of thinking are no longer sufficient. These times call for a new generation of leaders: future-oriented, values-driven, and capable of navigating uncertainty with clarity and purpose. The Future-Ready Leadership for Sustainability (FRLS) program empowers professionals and managers to take the next step toward a form of leadership that benefits people, organisations, and the planet.

This program equips you with the skills to tackle complex societal and ecological challenges—from a perspective that breaks with convention. Not through fixed models or linear step-by-step plans, but by making room for reflection, imagination, and meaningful interaction. You'll learn to think and act regeneratively, both within your organisation and beyond.

For leaders who want to make real change

FRLS participants are professionals who sense that conventional sustainability strategies fall short. They are ready to go deeper—beyond quick fixes and greenwashing. They are willing to challenge themselves, embrace new insights, and actively contribute to sustainable transformation in their professional practice.

The program is designed for both formal and informal leaders from a wide range of sectors—from business and government to NGOs and education. What unites them? A deep-rooted drive to make a difference through their work.

A program that connects head, heart, and hands

The FRLS program revolves around three core themes: regenerative leadership, futuring, and narrative practice.

Each module offers an intensive learning experience that blends personal development, creative methods, and future thinking. Expect storytelling, visualizations, artistic interventions, and even virtual reality—always grounded in academic insight and your own professional context.

Format and structure

The program is designed to be flexible and manageable alongside a full-time job. Modules take place every eight weeks and include:

• Three in-person, two-day modules
• Online follow-up sessions per module
• Reflective assignments and peer learning activities
• Optional: individual or peer coaching

What’s in it for you—and your organisation?

This program helps you:

• Navigate uncertainty, complexity, and systemic change
• Develop leadership rooted in regeneration instead of depletion
• Work with stories that inspire sustainable transformation
• Envision and enable future-oriented ways of organizing
• Align your professional practice with your core values

You’ll not only grow as a leader, but also contribute directly to a more resilient and meaningful organisational culture.

Costs

The costs for the Future Ready Leadership for Sustainability programme include:

• training costs, which include all lectures, access to the digital learning environment of the University of Twente
• arrangement costs, which include all accommodation and accommodation costs.

*Hard-copy book(s) are not included. Costs for this will be at your own expense.

The total investment for this Leadership programme is € 4,750 training costs plus € 750 arrangement costs. This masterclass is VAT-exempt.

Programme overview

Docenten

Dr. Barbara Kump

Barbara Kump investigates how organisations can contribute to sustainability transitions. Her research focuses on why and how companies shift towards more sustainable practices, and the role individuals and grassroots initiatives play in that process. Her work has been published in leading academic journals and was awarded, among others, the EURAM Most Inspirational Conference Paper Award. She obtained her PhD in Cognitive Psychology (University of Graz) and her habilitation in Business Administration (WU Vienna). Barbara has worked as a researcher, lecturer and assistant professor in Austria and Germany. In collaboration with SMEs, she conducted practice-oriented research on organisational development.

Dr. Anneke Sools

Anneke Sools is Associate Professor at the University of Twente and Programme Director of the Storylab, a research group focused on narrative psychology, health, and technology. Her work explores how people create hopeful futures in challenging circumstances, such as illness, ecological crises, or social uncertainty. She investigates how moral imagination and empathy can be fostered through artistic and immersive experiences, such as virtual reality. Anneke obtained her PhD at the University of Humanistic Studies and received the Professor Halkes Thesis Award (2001) and the AERA Early Career Award (2018). She is actively involved in several international advisory boards.

Become part of a learning community

Upon completion, you'll join an active network of professionals, researchers, and changemakers. Together, you’ll work toward sustainable innovation within and beyond your organization. Alumni remain connected to the FRLS program through follow-up sessions, research, and collaborative projects.