Rules for Fellowships

This section is very important and should be read very carefully. We would like you to know our purpose and intentions because the Academy is built on trust and commitment to social good.

Our purpose is to make it possible for talented Poles to obtain a world-class education irrespective of their financial status. We are delighted we can make one of Europe’s best leadership programs accessible to outstanding people who would otherwise be unable to afford to participate in such a program.

Leadership programs around the world are very costly, with prices going beyond USD 10 000 (approx. PLN 37 500) for a 3–6 day experience. Our past educators—including Prof. Heifetz and Prof. Dean Williams—are involved in such programs at Harvard and you can see the fees for their work here and here. See also fee for one of leadership programs organized by Ashoka here.

Our program differs. All our educators have agreed to teach at the Academy and help us build world-class education in Poland—in some cases free-of-charge, or for only a small fraction of their usual fee. This also applies to members of our organizing team who volunteer a great deal of their working and private time. As a result, and thanks to the support and cooperation of our partners, we have managed to lower the Academy’s operating costs to an absolute minimum.

This has enabled us to offer up to 40 Fellowships. People who receive a YES! from us will become Fellows of the Academy and can participate in the Academy at no cost to themselves, except for transportation costs, some personal expenses during the residential parts of the program, and a commitment fee.

The commitment fee is comparatively small but has three important functions. Firstly, it is a sign of commitment—we want you to be committed to the Academy’s work. We want to avoid situations in which candidates accepted to the program do not show up for classes, because “they are for free”. This is a real loss because it deprives other talented people from having the opportunity to participate in the Academy. Secondly, part of the commitment fee will cover essential costs (meals, Harvard licensing for case studies, print-outs of readings and other materials, etc.). Thirdly, it is a way of ensuring the Academy’s sustainability in the future so we can provide fellowships for other talented people in the coming years.

Any Fellows who are unable to afford the commitment fee may apply for financial support and we stand ready to reduce this fee even to 0 PLN or to other affordable level.

When selecting candidates, and later when providing financial support, we apply the following principles to ensure the full fairness of the process:

• Principle 1: Acceptance to the Academy is merit-based and is not influenced by a candidate’s financial situation—we will use a so-called blind-review process which means candidates will not be asked about their ability to pay the commitment fee in the application process.
• Principle 2: Financial support, a reduction in the commitment fee, is offered to those Fellows who need such support the most, and in proportion to their financial situation - we wish to avoid a situation in which people who do have substantial resources do not contribute to the Academy on the same grounds as people with very limited resources.
• Principle 3: Financial support, a reduction in the commitment fee, is offered to accepted Fellows in a transparent way - the same criteria will apply to all Fellows and will be made known in advance.

Operationally, this means the following two-stage procedure will apply for selecting candidates and providing financial support.

• Stage 1. Candidates apply to the Academy and are evaluated based only on the merit of their application form.
• Stage 2. Candidates who receive a YES! will be able to apply for a reduction in the commitment fee in the following order:
  • 100% reduction in the commitment fee – Fellows earning less than PLN 4353,55 (average monthly gross salary in Poland according to GUS in the Q1 of 2017 – see here.
  • 50% reduction in the commitment fee – Fellows earning between PLN 4353,55 gross and PLN 5740,44 gross (halft way between an avarage monthly gross salary and personal income tax bracket for high-end 32% tax rate according to the Ministry of Finance in 2016 – see here).
  • 25% reduction in the commitment fee – Fellows earning an average monthly gross salary of between PLN 5,654 gross and PLN 7127,33 gross.
  • Fellows who are above the limits can obtain reimbursement from their organization or HR department do not require support.
  • Fellows can provide us with other non-financial reasons for their inability to pay which will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis taking into account in particular high expenditure on health or temporary unemployment issues.

NB: we will not ask for PIT statements. When applying for financial support, Fellows will only be obliged to sign a personal written statement on whether they earn more or less than the given threshold; they will not have to tell us their exact salaries. We will not verify these statements in anyway and will simply trust our Fellows.

The total commitment fee is USD 900 (subject to the reductions discussed above) and consists of:

1. Fixed registration fee of USD 175 (approx. PLN 650):
   1. actual payment covering essential costs for participating in the Academy;
   2. payment 2 weeks before the Academy starts only by Fellows who have already been accepted.
2. Donation of the remaining part of the commitment fee:
   1. voluntary donation to a special fund created in the Flying Mind Foundation that co-organizes the Academy dedicated to securing future editions of the Academy and future generations of Fellows and Alumni.
   2. payment only 2 weeks after graduating from the Academy once Fellows have gone through the whole program and can evaluate the value of the program for their personal and professional life.

We believe this system is very fair and our promise is that the Academy will provide participants with a unique and life-changing experience and a standing resource for their future leadership work and personal life.

Note: we do not provide any financial support in the form of stipends payable in a monetary form directly to Fellows.