Leadership Academy

The Leadership Academy is an educational program accredited by the Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic. The program is composed of 2 weekend trainings (Friday evening – Sunday afternoon). The aim of the program is to gain and improve competences in the field of international project management and leading volunteers in a multicultural environment.

What will you learn thanks to the Academy of Leadership?

  • how to organize an event with the international participation of volunteers
  • the project management
  • how to lead and motivate young people
  • how to communicate with volunteers, representatives of partner organizations, and the local community
  • tips and tricks on how to work under pressure, react flexibly and solve non-standard situations
  • how to create a positive atmosphere within the team and how to choose the right team building methods

Who is the Leadership Academy for?

  • for everyone from 17 to 40 years old who lives in Slovakia
  • for those who are interested in improving their skills and learning something new
  • for future camp leaders, but also for those who do not plan to lead a camp
  • previous experience with volunteering, with camps or with INEX Slovakia activities are not required
  • it is not training for the youth workers who are working in the youth NGOs

After the successful completion of the Leadership Academy, the participants will share their experiences from the workcamps, evaluate the acquired knowledge and skills and receive certificates during the special event called Potáborka. Potáborka is organized one Saturday at the end of September at the INEX Slovakia office in Bratislava.

The Leadership Academy is partially financed by a grant from the Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic and participation fees. Due to a lack of funds, the training team is organizing the Leadership Academy on a volunteer basis, for what we thank them very much! 🙂

  • Leadership Academy 1

    When: March 2025
    Where: more information soon

    Workshops:

    • goals of the work with young people
    • volunteering and its history
    • methodology of international youth project management
    • how to properly lead a team
    • how to choose appropriate evaluation methods
    • how to create educational activities at the youth project
    • game theory and experiential pedagogy
    • communication
    • motivation
    • practical project planning exercise

    Accommodation
    More information soon.

    Food
    Meals (breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks throughout the day) will be provided for all participants. In order to ensure the diet, please write in the application form any allergies, intolerances, diets that you must follow.

    Travelling to the training
    Each participant on their own. More info on how to get to the training venue will be in the infosheet we will send to accepted participants.

    What INEX will provide you:
    – weekend training led by an experienced team of trainers
    – the opportunity to meet new people, learn about the possibilities and professional benefits of international volunteering
    – food (3 times a day, snacks)
    – accommodation

    What it will cost you?
    – weekend
    – participation fee €50/1 weekend training
    – transport to the place of training
    – time to fill out the application form

    The second part of the Leadership Academy will take place in Banska Stiavnica.In the second part, participants will expand and gain new knowledge and skills in the topics of methodology of organizing a youth project, group dynamic and game theory, intercultural learning, how to motivate, financial management, solving conflicts and non-standard situations. The second part of the training also includes simulations and practical activities to try different leaders skills.

    After successful completion, participants will receive a certificate for the educational activity: Management of volunteers in a multicultural environment.

  • Leadership Academy 2

    When: june 2025
    Where: Banská Štiavnica

    Workshops:

    • methodology of international youth project management
    • group dynamic and theory of games
    • intercultural learning
    • finance management
    • conflict resolution
    • simulations and practical activities to try different leaders skills

    Part of the training is also the final exam. Please plan your travel back home so you would be able to participate during the whole time of the training.

    Accommodation
    more information soon

    Food
    Meals (breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks throughout the day) will be provided for all participants. We will be eating the lunches in the restaurant. The breakfasts and dinners will be prepared by INEX Slovakia. In order to ensure the diet, please write in the application form any allergies, intolerances, diets that you must follow.

    Travelling to the training
    Each participant on their own. More info on how to get to the training venue will be in the infosheet we will send to accepted participants.

    What INEX will provide you:
    – weekend training led by an experienced team of trainers
    – the opportunity to meet new people, learn about the possibilities and professional benefits of international volunteering
    – food (3 times a day, snacks)
    – accommodation

    What it will cost you?
    – weekend
    – participation fee €50/1 weekend training
    – transport to the place of training
    – time to fill out the application form

    After successful completion, participants will receive a certificate for the educational activity: management of volunteers in a multicultural environment. The official event will take place on September 2025 in Bratislava.

  • Training team

    Monika is the head of the training team and will answer all your questions about the Leadership Academy, from topics, dates, accommodation to the application process. She graduated in teaching academic subjects (pedagogy – citizenship education) and started volunteering alongside her studies. Her journey as a volunteer began at an international volunteer camp in Slovakia. She later completed training for leaders and led summer camps in Slovakia for 5 years. After participating in the training for trainers, she became a member of the training team. She has been working at INEX since 2016. She started as an EDS coordinator and head of the training team. She is currently in charge of the Leadership Academy, international volunteering camps in Slovakia and representing INEX and the interests of volunteering at work meetings in Slovakia and abroad, as well as a member of the Executive Committee of the Slovak Youth Council. Among her favorite training topics are multicultural learning, motivation, conflict resolution and communication.

    Katka started her volunteering journey as an animator at children’s camps. She discovered INEX in 2016 and through it participated in several projects in France, Estonia and Slovakia. After completing a course in the management of leaders of international volunteering camps, she decided to try leadership and led projects in Prešov and Slatinka. He has been in the training team since 2020 and focuses mainly on study parts and communication, game theory and leadership. She graduated from the University of Economics in Bratislava, currently works in auditing and accounting.

    Peťo ‘s first volunteer project was a youth exchange in Banská Štiavnica in 2011. Since then, volunteering has been his great passion. He participated in 3 workcamps and training for trainers abroad. In 2012, he completed training for leaders, after which he led more than 10 workcamps, and since 2014 he has been a member of the training team. He represented INEX in the international organization Alliance of European Voluntary Service Organizations as a member of the working group for environmental sustainability, which he later led. He mainly deals with the topics of leadership, communication, motivation and conflict resolution. He studied geography at the Comenius University and currently works for Dell as a data center price analyst.

    Zuzka first participated in an international volunteer youth exchange in Levice in year 2008. Later, during her university studies in law at the University in Bratislava, she participated in several summer camps in Spain, Italy and Philadelphia. There she also tried leadership for the first time. She then continued to lead at the INEX camps in Slovakia. Zuzka works at company IBM, where she manages the sales support team. She currently works as a member of the training team. Among her most favorite topics are communication, leadership, intercultural relations, conflict resolution. She likes traveling, sports, books.

    Romana studied international relations at the Metropolitan University in Prague. She currently works for Lenovo as an operations manager. In her free time, she does sports (cycling, tennis, running, alpine skiing, yoga), likes to travel, plays the piano and generally enjoys going beyond her comfort zone and pushing her limits. Romana’s volunteering journey began in cooperation with the Youth Council of Slovakia, where she participated as a training facilitator within the European program “The Activist Network”. She has been part of INEX’s training team since 2024. Among her favorite topics are leadership, effective time management and mind maps.

    The guarantor of the accredited program

    Barbi is the guarantor of an accredited educational program, she graduated as a teacher of general education subjects (pedagogy – English language and literature) and at the same time majored in social pedagogy. She came to INEX in 2000. Her first workcamp was in France. Subsequently, she started leading camps in Slovakia and later worked at INEX as a coordinator of the European Volunteer Service. Later, she was in charge of sending Slovak volunteers to different activities abroad and she also tried position of the head of the office. After that, she was in charge of international volunteering camps in Slovakia and leader training in Slovakia, as well as leading the training team. She currently works at INEX as a project coordinator of the European Solidarity Corps. You can also meet her at the Leadership Academy.

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Reviews

The Leadership Academy exceeded all my expectations. Thanks to the great training team, I have a better idea of how to organize and run international volunteering camps. I liked the alternation of theoretical blocks with practical exercises/simulations of real situations and fun games. All in a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere. I am glad that I could meet a lot of like-minded people. It's great that I can use the knowledge from the training not only in the volunteer world, but they have also given me a lot for my personal and professional life.

Miriam Sirotnakova

The training was a great opportunity to meet interesting and inspiring young people. I liked that the activities were fun and informative at the same time. In addition, the skills acquired from the practical workshops, for example on multitasking or feedback, can also be used in everyday life.

Matej Masrna

A nice weekend at the Leadership Academy, whose added value was not only quality workshops and lectures but also good company not only from Slovakia but also from abroad. I am looking forward to the second part of the program! :)

Gabriela Balogova

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FAQ

  • What are the terms and conditions for participation in the Leadership Academy?

    You can already read them here: terms and conditions for participation in the Leadership Academy.

  • I am a youth worker, can I apply for the Leadership Academy?

    The Leadership Academy is primarily aimed at young people who do not work for civic associations. For youth workers, we recommend the trainings organised by the Bratislavske dobrovolnicke centrum or PDCS.

  • Can I participate in Leadership Academy 2 even if I didn't participate in the first part?

    Yeah. However, it will not be possible to issue you with a training certificate.

  • If I attended the first part of the training last year and attend the second part this year, will I get a certificate?

    No. The training cycle must be completed in one calendar year.

  • What is the language of the training and what must be its level?

    Part of the training is in English. The participant must have a communication level (A2). Language tests are not done.

  • Where should I pay the participation fee?

    The participant shall pay the participation fee by bank transfer to our account SK26 1100 0000 0026 6745 5125 (Tatrabanka) – the participant shall indicate their surname and first name and the Leadership Academy in the purpose of the payment/transaction description to make the payment easily identifiable, or in person at the INEX Slovakia office (see opening hours)

  • When will my application become valid?

    We accept the application after agreeing to the conditions of participation and receiving the participation fee. To speed up the process, we recommend sending confirmation of the transfer of the participation fee to the e-mail inex(at)inex.sk.

  • When will I get a reply that I have been accepted?

    We will notify you of acceptance within 3 days of receiving your participation fee.

  • Why do I pay the INEX participation fee?

    We are a civic association and therefore we do not run a business and do not provide paid services. The fee helps us to cover a small part of the costs of the event. The cost of the event is made up of accommodation, meals, refreshments, conference room fee, materials for the event. At the same time, the fee represents an expression of interest in attending the event. The training team prepares the training at no charge.

  • When will I get my training certificate?

    After successful completion of the training (participation in 2 trainings, completed distance learning tasks, test and exam) participants will receive a certificate from the training activity: volunteer management in a multicultural environment. The event will take place at Potaborka in September in Bratislava.

  • What is a Potaborka?

    Day, when all workcamp leaders and participants of the Leadership Academy will come together to share their experiences from the workcamps, evaluate the knowledge and skills they have gained, share their experiences and receive certificates confirming their competences. The event is usually held during one Saturday at the end of September at the INEX Slovakia office in Bratislava.

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