The Personal Development Scheme provides students with a great variety of opportunities for self-discovery and personal development. The scheme consists of extracurricular experiences that help develop burgeoning interests, confidence and social skills that will serve our students well throughout their lives and enrich their university applications.
The scheme also aims to help students discover potential careers and university degrees. The Personal Development Scheme (PDS) is mandatory both for Fifth and Sixth Form students.
For Fifth Form students the Personal Development Scheme includes activities such as:
curiosity-driven group projects chosen by the students from over a dozen options offered by specialist experts from both the faculty and beyond
workshops on topics directly connected to students’ daily reality (i.e. wellbeing and developing resilience, public speaking and academic skills)
lectures on project management delivered by experts to ensure a successful group project whether it be in PDS or within the standard curriculum
View examples of PDS projects over the last years:
Project description: Have you ever thought about preparing and publishing your own e-book? Moreover, would you like to combine it with a charity work and help homeless animals? "People and Animals: a friendship that means a lot" for the Personal Development Program is a series of multidisciplinary meetings during which we will learn to create our own book: write stories and poems, create illustrations and take care of the media side of the project (one of our tasks will be to promote the project and organise a money collection for the e-book publication).
An important part of our classes will be also getting in touch with the organization, which supports animals that have experienced human violence (DIOZ). During these sixteen-weeks students will prepare an e-book only by themselves, therefore we are looking for those who like to write (both English or Polish), draw and design graphics or like media work related to managing social media accounts. The entire amount that we collect from the sale of the e-book will be donated to the “DIOZ” foundation.
Skills that will be developed throughout this course:
Project description: The aim of the project is to empower teenagers to develop a positive body image and raise awareness about body positivity in their school community. The main inspiration for the project was "Nie obraź się, ale nie jesteś zbyt ładna" (eng. ‘No Offense but You’re not that Pretty’) in which Natalia Mialik and Kasia Mecinska write about the pressure, shame and guilt that girls and women have to deal while trying to meet the expected beauty standards.
In the project, we would like to take a step further, and try to explore body positivity from the perspective of boys and young men as statistically boys are far less likely to address their own body image concerns and are more likely to struggle alone. As the final outcome of the project we would like to write and publish "a sequel" to "Nie obraź się ale", and we are also planning to organise a Body Positivity Reflection Session for the school community.
Skills that will be developed throughout this course:
Project description: Our bodies are an accumulation of the food we consume. Our food choices determine our health and wellbeing, shape our societies, transform our ecosystems, and can be a tool for the exercise of power. The way we eat can heal our bodies, unite our communities, and save our planet.
What sort of publication might we create that expresses our attitudes, experiences and musings about food? We’re assembling a passionate, creative brigade who can cook, write, design, and imagine beyond the margins. We have a lot of work to do in a short amount of time, so everyone will need to ‘roll up their sleeves’. If you think you can handle the heat and you have some skills to contribute, then step into our kitchen.
Skills that will be developed throughout this course are:
Project description: ‘Seeing comes before words. The child looks and recognizes before it can speak.’ John Berger. Berger’s words were the inspiration behind this project since we also believe that visual storytelling is an integral part of our human existence. Art allows people to communicate on different levels and it empowers us as it can give voice to the politically or socially disenfranchised. Research has shown that art affects the fundamental sense of self. Therefore, it is so important that art is accessible to everyone and we are encouraged to interact with it more spontaneously and freely. In this project, we will study art collections of different galleries in the capital and work closely with the Warsaw Museum of Modern Art. You will also participate in the creation of a unique art guide for the young that will be promoted on the Museum of Modern Art website.
Skills that will be developed throughout this course are:
