1. Bern University of Applied Sciences
  2. Social Work
  3. Continuing education
  4. Mindfulness in Organisations
See table of contents See table of contents

Mindfulness in Organisations

Do you want to use mindfulness and positive leadership to make your organisation more successful? Gain the expertise and inspiration you need to make the culture change.

This CAS allows you to combine three specialist courses in one package: you will learn about new approaches to management and how to establish them in your organisation. You must have experience in management or HR and organisational development.

  • You understand the principles of mindful management and of positive or agile leadership.
  • You put these leadership principles into practice in a credible manner.
  • You know how organisations can be developed so that these leadership principles can be applied in an increasing number of day-to-day workplace situations. You see digital transformation, change management and other operational challenges as opportunities and know how to make the most of them.
  • During the course, you will work on a project focusing on organisational development.

Factsheet

  • Degree/Certificate Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS)
  • Duration approx. 20 study days, 3 - 6 semester
  • Schedule according to specialist courses schedule
  • Application deadline depending on the specialist course
  • ECTS credits 12 ECTS-credits
  • Costs CHF 8,500
  • Teaching language German
  • Location Bern, Schwarztorstrasse 48
  • School Business School
  • Next session Please visit the German website for more information

Contact

Downloads (in German)

To register, please visit the German website. 

Content + structure

Portrait

Mindful success. Lead your organisation on the path to more personal presence, benevolence, engagement and agility. Apply scientific foundations and the principle of benevolent presence alongside pragmatic cost/benefit considerations. Equip yourself with the tools to make organisations not just efficient but also human, caring and successful.

Learning outcomes

  • You will be able to embed mindfulness and related approaches in your organisation.
  • You will be familiar with numerous ways to integrate mindfulness into your day-to-day professional practice.
  • You will become a voice for mindfulness across all levels of the hierarchy and all professional disciplines.
  • You will be familiar with methodologies and tools for embedding mindfulness in organisations and combining it with the principles of agile or positive leadership.
  • You will understand how to tackle the typical challenges involved in these forms of organisational development.
  • You will grow as a person and will represent mindfulness in challenging situations, inspiring others as a result.

The CAS Mindfulness in Organisations comprises three specialist courses:

And a choice of:

The specialist course ‘Mindful Leadership’ must be completed before the specialist course ‘Mindfulness-Based Organisational Development’. You are otherwise free to choose the order in which you take the courses. From the first day of the first course, you have three years to complete the CAS.

Specialist courses

  • Specialist course

Mindful Leadership

Is mindfulness important to you? Discover with us this millennia-old tradition and train key qualities that are expected of leaders today.
  • Specialist course

Mindfulness-Based Organisational Development

Do you want to find out how to introduce mindfulness into organisations? Compelling research findings, practical guidance and inspiring encounters show you the way.
  • Specialist course

Positive Leadership

Do you want to lead using a strengths-based approach? Is your goal to achieve outstanding performance with a highly motivated team? Using inspiring research and practical guidance, this continuing education...
  • Specialist course

Agile Team Leadership

Interested in making your leadership role more agile? Are you able to manage tensions and paradoxes? Learn what agile leadership is all about.

Adults learn differently. That is why the continuing education at the BFH Business school is committed to modern adult education. Our mission with «brain, heart and hand» is an important principle in the design of our offers. Questions in the lessons are based on the participants' professional and practical life experiences. Contact study and self-study phases are combined in a meaningful way, analogue learning environments are combined with digital tools. Microsoft Teams is available as a supplementary tool: you have access to documents, messages and information as well as a chat function within the class.

What do you need to be successful? The methodology used in all specialist courses of this CAS aims to answer precisely this question.

  • Specialist input, case studies, group exercises, discussions
  • Coaching
  • Development Centre
  • Assignments, tandem learning, reflection reports and practice reports

Class attendance

Regular attendance in class as well as the passing of the proof of competence are prerequisites for the successful completion of the degree programme. If you are absent for more than 2 days, you will have to make up for this (after consultation with the head of the degree programme).

Assessments in this CAS

No scholarly treatises. What is important is logical structure, clear argumentation, helpful literature research, outside perspectives and well-drawn conclusions that lead to practicable results. You will be asked to submit work in different formats and will be given clear guidelines:

  • Reflection reports
  • Project documentation
  • Practice reports

Your performance in each specialist course will be assessed separately.

We offer short, free learning events for all students of our CAS programmes. With these offers we would like to support you in completing your CAS successfully.

Effective learning in continuing education at universities of applied sciences

You will learn about transfer-oriented learning models and techniques. You reflect on your own learning biography and are encouraged to try out new learning behaviour.

Workshop Transfer Report 

You will be supported in writing your report and benefit from active peer counselling. You will present your unfinished report and receive feedback from the audience as well as from an expert.

Methodology Transfer Report 

You will get to know and understand the exact tasks of a transfer report. We teach you the quality criteria to write a good report.

We highly recommend participation for your first CAS. You will receive further information and schedule before the start of the study.

Lecturers

Our lecturers are proven experts with extensive practical and theoretical knowledge in their subject areas. They have at least a university degree plus many years of experience in higher education. 

Admission + further study

You have experience in managing teams and groups in different organisational contexts. You are prepared to share challenges from your own workplace as part of the course and to reflect on and develop your leadership role in the team.

Typical participants:

  • Managers who practise meditation themselves and who would like to extend mindfulness within their team and the wider professional environment.
  • Professionals working in organisational development, occupational health management or change management who would like to use mindfulness and positive psychology or agile leadership as a basis for their work.
  • People who are looking to advance and showcase their skills in organisational development.

University degree

You will be admitted to the programme with a degree from a university, university of applied sciences, university of teacher education, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, or an equivalent foreign university and at least two years of professional experience.

Higher vocational training

If you have a qualification from a higher vocational education institution (Diploma Höhere Fachschule HF, Federal Diploma, Federal Certificate of Proficiency) and several years of professional experience, you will also be admitted to the programme. However, you will be required to attend our Introduction to Academic Study before starting the CAS. Completion of this module is a prerequisite for admission to the CAS.

Exceptions

In exceptional circumstances applicants may still  be admitted. The head of the degree programme will make a decision based upon your application and extenuating circumstances. Please contact us. If you are admitted, you will in any case attend the course «Introduction to Academic Writing» (in German) before the first CAS.

Participation in individual specialist courses

There are no admission requirements for the individual specialist courses. If you are interested in earning ECTS credits, the admission requirements for continuing education apply.

Knowledge + abilities

You have experience in managing teams and groups in different organisational contexts. You are prepared to share challenges from your own workplace as part of the course and to reflect on and develop your leadership role in the team.

Some of the guest lectures and course materials are in English.

Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) of Bern University of Applied Sciences in ‘Mindfulness in Organisations’ (12 ECTS credits).

This CAS can be counted towards:

Organisation + Registration

The programme comprises a total of around 20 study days. Choose three of four specialist courses for the CAS in Mindfulness in Organisations. The specialist course «Mindful Leadership» must be completed before the specialist course «Mindfulness-Based Organisational Development». See the course page for dates and information.

Register directly via the relevant course page

And a choice of:

The specialist course «Mindful Leadership» must be completed before the specialist course «Mindfulness-Based Organisational Development».

Documents required for registration

You can register online via registration form. For registration we require following documents (in PDF format, max. 1 MB per document): 

  • Diplomas 

  • Curriculum Vitae 

  • Passport-sized photo (in JPG format) 

Please upload these documents even if you have already submitted them for another application. 

See the relevant course page for the registration deadline. The dates are listed on the relevant course pages.

CHF 8,500.

All required reading, course materials and assessments are included in the price.

The continuing education regulations of the Bern University of Applied Sciences and the implementation regulations for the continuing education regulations apply. The right to make changes is reserved. In case of doubt, the wording of the legal provisions and regulations shall prevail.

Continuing Education Regulations of Bern University of Applied Sciences (WBR) (PDF, 81 KB)
Implementation Provisions for the Continuing Education Regulations WBR in the Business School (PDF, 81 KB)
Implementation Provisions for the Continuing Education Regulations (PDF, 77 KB)
Framework Study Regulations at Bern University of Applied Sciences (PDF, 127 KB)
Regulations on Scientific Integrity at Bern University of Applied Sciences (WissIR) (PDF, 140 KB)
Legal foundations

Advice + information events

Study Counselling

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Head of degree programme

Administration

Information events

In addition to the information events we offer you our personal advice. By telephone or directly online via MS Teams.

Please contact us!

E-mail: weiterbildung.wirtschaft@bfh.ch 
Phone: 031 848 34 02

Location + Facilities

Schwarztorstrasse 48, Bern