Outdoor Leadership & Adventure Program

RCS ACADEMY – OUTDOOR LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROGRAM

The RCS Academy Outdoor Leadership & Adventure Program aims to prepare participants for their journey of life by developing transferable leadership skills via experiential learning. The experience aims to foster an appreciation and deeper understanding for the environment, and get participants to be active members of the wider community by connecting their experience to everyday life. This program is currently being offered as a complimentary afternoon component to the RCS Academy morning courses. Participants from all morning courses will merge into one group and have the opportunity to discover their unique set of skills by learning about the environment around them via hands-on training and learning.

Participants may choose to attend the Outdoor Leadership & Adventure Program as a stand-alone program or as an extension to their morning RCS Academy courses. There are skills to be gained for everybody; it doesn’t matter which morning course one is enrolled in, if any! The key is taking the initiative to dig deeper and relish risk-taking in a safe and healthy environment.

PROGRAM DETAILS

From Monday to Thursday between 12:30 to 16:00, our participants will join training sessions in various topics involving the outdoors, survival, teamwork & leadership at their base camp at the Robert College campus. On the first Friday at 12:30, they will be taken to Nişantepe Orman Park and the last Friday, our trip will be to Şile – Yeşil Vadi for camping overnight camping, orienteering activities and series of exciting workshops such as fire making, cooking and night navigation.

Our Expert – A Different Approach to Leadership

Burak İkizler has studied Chemical Engineering in METU after graduating from Ted Ankara College. He also holds an MBA degree from Bilkent University and New York University SCPS. He took management duties in several dot-com companies, consulting & service firms and worked in the healthcare sector for the past 12 years. Roles he took include sales, deputy GM and GM positions.

From 2018 and on, he decided to pursue his passion of exploring the outdoors. Following his enrollment in EWES (European Wilderness Education School) Wilderness Guide Level 1 training program and spending a year in Spanish, French and Catalan Pyrenees, Andorra and Donana; one of the most amazing National Parks in the world, as a Wilderness Leadership Trainer, he joined the ranks of Yone-Team, a company focused on Experiential Learning for “new generation’s leaders.” Robert College/Robert College Summer Programs and Yöne-Team are long term partners in outdoor education.

The Content

Participants will have the chance to hone their leadership and outdoor survival skills on campus and then put them to work in an authentic setting in nature. Robert College campus has one of the most impressive and “untouched” natural spots in Istanbul and participants will have a chance to enjoy this wonderful ecosystem to it’s full extent.

The Outdoor Leadership & Adventure Program will run in 2-week sessions, con-current with the RCS Academy courses. Monday through Thursday (both weeks) will take place at the Robert College campus. There will be off-site activities with overnight stays on Fridays in both weeks.

Register Now for Outdoor Leadership Training Program!

Recover the Connection

The great outdoors will become the proving grounds in this nature exploration and leadership training course; where higher consciousness and mindfulness can be achieved, irrespective of skill set, age and gender.

Increasing deficits in spending time in nature, having quality & authentic conversations with family and friends while not taking care of our digital well-being is directly contributing to growing stress and unsustainable lifestyles, adversely impacting our relationships and our environment.

We hope to achieve this “re-connection” by giving our participants a glimpse at concepts such as:

  • Responsibilities in Leadership – Ethics and Morals
  • Shaping a Sustainable Public Attitude Towards the Environment
  • Facilitation and Training Techniques
  • Group Process
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Orienteering, Shelter Building, Equipment Safety & Climbing
  • Challenge Course Facilitation and Management
  • Essential life skills (teamwork, collaboration and communication)

Participants may choose to attend the Outdoor Leadership & Adventure Program as a stand-alone program or as an extension to their morning RCS Academy courses. There are skills to be gained for everybody; it doesn’t matter which morning course one is enrolled in, if any! The key is taking the initiative to dig deeper and relish in risk-taking in a safe and healthy environment.

A Journey in Its Own Right

The course will begin in the woods of the Robert College campus, at a designated Base Camp, where our participants will learn many aspects of outdoor survival; various topics such as ecology, shelter building, usage of tools, nutrition, navigation, task distribution, safety, fire making and many more will be addressed.

Later in the week, our training group will be invited out to Nişantepe Orman Park for a night-out hike and camping training. They will be able to put their recently acquired skills to good use while navigating the forest, cooking for themselves and experience the basics of team building during a rigorous orienteering session.

Second week will resume, back again at the Base Camp at RC, this time with the emphasis on Leadership, Team Building, Behavioral Observations and Investigative Attitude. Our participants will dissect the aspects of Communication, develop a finessed way of expression and discussion. Through various case studies and team building activities, they will develop new ways of observing themselves, each other and the environment.

As the pièce de résistance, our training group will tackle the challenges of outdoor survival in the wilderness at Yeşil Vadi, Şile. Accompanied at every step by our Outdoor Survival Expert and RCS Academy team, participants will test their skills through many challenges set by the environment and by design.

After the preparations are done, our participants will enjoy a nature hike, team building activities and an opportunity to cook dinner outdoors. After the night out, breakfast will be served by Yeşil Vadi crew for a relaxing Saturday, marking the end of the session.

In summary we allow participants to grow out of their comfort zone in a diverse, multicultural ecosystem (new friends) with a focus on SELF Resilience, Confidence, Sufficiency, Discipline, Autonomy and Competency.

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. – Albert Einstein