Where can I learn the skills of place branding in the form of a short course, complete with a certificate which I can use towards my skills development? So far, the answer was: difficult!
Although several initiatives exist – for example courses offered by the Institute of Place Management in the UK (academic) and the Nordic Place Branding Academy in Sweden (consultancy-driven) – there is an urgent need to
- combine expertise from academia and practice,
- involve leading specialists around the world,
- offered by an institution which can issue a credible certificate upon completion of such courses.
The IPBA Academy promises to be just that – launched last week under the umbrella of the International Place Branding Association (a tight-knit network of leading scholars so far mostly using it to organize the annual academic conference) and expertly managed by IPBA Education Director Magdalena Florek and her team.
I am happy to support this new initiative through The Place Brand Observer and we have created a dedicated page for the Place Branding Academy to give you an overview of online courses currently available, as well as who will be delivering them (most tutors and presenters have been interviewed by us over the last 6 years and some I know well).
If you have questions about the academy, please contact the team via the website www.placebranding.org/academy.
You’d like to contribute to the IPBA Academy? Please get in touch and I will gladly introduce you to Magdalena. Also, do let me know which topics you would be most interested in for future courses offered by the Academy, so I can pass this on.
Pssst. Those enrolled in a course of the IPBA Place Branding Academy will benefit from a 50% discount on TPBO Premium membership!
