Keys to the Mondragon cooperative experience
KEYS TO THE MONDRAGON COOPERATIVE EXPERIENCE: AN ONLINE COURSE + OPTIONAL STUDY TOUR
An online course in English that will give you a detailed introduction to one of the most advanced cooperative ecosystems in the world: the Mondragon Cooperative Experience.
The audience for this course
Anyone interested in the Mondragon Cooperative Experience. They might be students or faculty in different fields (humanities, education, social sciences, business...) as well as researchers, co-op members or developers, or others. The course is aimed at all those interested in shared ownership, cooperative enterprise and the social economy generally.
Highlights
Study cooperative enterprise online.
Then visit and experience the Mondragon cooperative group in person (optional).
Prepared and guided by a faculty team with many years of experience collaborating closely with Mondragon and other cooperatives.
Led by the LANKI Institute of Cooperative Research and Development, Mondragon Unibertsitatea.
Programme
The program consists of two units: (1) an online course and (2) an optional, follow-up study-visit in Mondragon.
Online course (75 hours)
The course presents the main features of cooperative enterprise and the key elements of the Mondragon Cooperative Experience.
More specifically, it will cover:
- An introduction to the concept of cooperative enterprise
- The historical roots, development and keys features of the Mondragon cooperative experience (the sovereignty of labor, cooperative governance, intercooperation among co-ops, compensation and surplus policy, etc.)
- The cooperative company as a tool for social transformation
- Future challenges for cooperatives and Mondragon specifically
One week study-tour in Mondragon (optional)
The objective of the visit is to learn about the Mondragon cooperatives through direct contact and discussion, deepening participants’ knowledge of this social-business project. The visit is optional and will be organized if a minimum number of people who do the course commit to participating. In order to take part, a participant must have first completed the online course.
Dates
Online course
- Start date: February 11, 2025.
- End date: March 21, 2025.
Study-tour in Mondragon
- Scheduled date for the stay of the group in Spanish: from March 31, 2025, to April 4, 2025
- Scheduled date for the stay of the group in English: from April 7, 2025, to April 11, 2025
Note: If there is insufficient quorum to organize both stays separately, the two groups will undertake the stay jointly.
ADMISSION
- Online course: unlimited.
- Study-tour: Minimum required: 10 people. Maximum: 25 people.
FACULTY
The instructors are faculty members at the LANKI Institute of Cooperative Research of Mondragon Unibertsitatea.
COORDINATOR
Miren Zuberogoitia
Enrollment
To enroll in this course you must fill in the document and send it by email.
- Mail to: ielustondo@mondragon.edu
Recgnition of credits
Full completion of this course (online unit + study-tour in Mondragon) will be recognized as equivalent to one module (5 credits/ECTS) in Mondragon Unibertsitatea’s Master's Degree in Cooperative Enterprise and Social Business Management.
Financial Assistance options
UNESCO Chair scholarships
Two scholarships will be offered to fund students interested in taking the course. These will be offered within the framework of the UNESCO Chair of Social and Solidarity Economy of which Mondragon Unibertsitatea is a member. In order to apply for a scholarship, a student must be affiliated with an organization that also participates in the network of UNESCO Chairs.
The scholarship will fund the tuition fees for the online course and, if applicable, the academic portion of the cost of the study visit to Mondragon. The scholarship does not cover travel, accommodation and meal expenses.
Applicants for a scholarship must submit the following documentation:
- Letter of motivation for taking the course.
- Evidence of the applicant’s affiliation with an organization that participates oin the UNESCO Chair network.
Those interested in applying for a scholarship should send the required documentation before January 29, 2025 to the following address: ielustondo@mondragon.edu
The resolution of the UNESCO scholarships will be announced on 1 February 2025.
FUNDAE benefits
Students from Spain are eligible for FUNDAE benefits.
Price
Online course: €450
Study-tour: €1,000
- Travel to/from Mondragon, accomodations and morning/evening meals: These are expenses will be the participant's responsibility, over and above the price of the course and study-tour.
- Daytime study-tour activities, midday meals and travel to/from these: These included in the price of the study-tour. The meeting point for departures/arrivals will be Mondragon.
Arrasate-Mondragón is located the province of Gipuzkoa, close the border with the provinces of Bizkaia and Araba, in the heart of Euskadi. It is located 39 km from Vitoria-Gasteiz, 78 km from Donostia-San Sebastián and 48 km from Bilbao.
Organization
The course is organized by the LANKI Institute of Cooperative Research of Mondragon Unibertsitatea, a research and development unit of a dozen people created in 2001 that specializes in:
- Research on cooperative enterprise, with a focus on the Mondragon Cooperative Experience.
- Innovation and development of cooperative enterprise education. Production of teaching/learning materials, design and implementation of cooperative training programs.
- Knowledge transfer and support for the development of cooperative socio-business projects.
This course is included among the activities of the UNESCO Chair in Social and Solidarity Economy of which Mondragon Unibertsitatea is a part.