International Place Branding Association Academy.

Join the brand-new IPBA Academy to learn how
to develop authentic and sustainable place brands.

For any questions and to sign up -
contact us at academy@placebranding.org.

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REGISTRATION OPEN NOW

The IPBA Academy provides the highest-quality training available on place branding for cities, regions and tourism destinations. At the IPBA Academy we offer general courses on place branding as well as specialised courses on issues of particular significance in the contemporary, fast-changing environment. We also design tailor-made trainings to meet the specific needs of your city, municipality or destination.

Students of the IPBA Academy have access to the most up-to-date knowledge and material including the best practices from across the globe. The pride of the IPBA Academy is the pool of experienced tutors who are amongst the world’s most well-known researchers, educators and consultants on place branding.

The IPBA is the only international body established to promote and advance place branding and is aimed at improving the place branding practice. The courses offered at the IPBA Academy provide practitioners with a wide spectrum of skills and knowledge that will guarantee their career progression and the best possible place branding implementation for their destinations.

 

Supporting Partner.

Place Brand Observer
IPBA Academy participants receive a 50% off discount of a yearly membership at PlaceBrandObserver.com.

Tutors.

The IPBA Academy tutors are amongst the world’s best-known experts in the area of place and destination branding. They are the leading researchers who have produced cutting-edge knowledge in the field, consultants who have undertaken some of the best place branding implementation projects and practitioners who are responsible for some of the world’s best place brands.

Robert Govers

Robert Govers
IPBA Chairman

see bio >
Martin Boisen

Martin Boisen
IPBA Vice-Chairman

see bio >
Magdalena Florek

Magdalena Florek
IPBA Board Member

see bio >
Mihalis Kavaratzis

Mihalis Kavaratzis
IPBA Board Member

see bio >

Guest Speakers.

Simon Anholt

Simon Anholt

see bio >
Ernst van den Berg

Ernst van den Berg

see bio >
Marco Bevolo

Marco Bevolo

see bio >
Hong Fan

Hong Fan
IPBA Board Member

see bio >
Luuk Helleman

Luuk Helleman

see bio >

Marta Hereźniak

see bio >
Inga Hlin Palsdottir

Inga Hlín Pálsdóttir

see bio >
Frans Horst

Frans van der Horst

see bio >
Aine Kearney

Aine Kearney

see bio >
Martin McElligott

Martin McElligott

see bio >
NIgel Morgan

Nigel Morgan
IPBA Board Member

see bio >
Roger Pride

Roger Pride

see bio >
Natalie Raben

Natalie Raben

see bio >

Jess Radford

see bio >
Flip Robinson

Flip Robinson

see bio >
Stefan Roesch

Stefan Roesch

see bio >
Øyvind Såtvedt

Øyvind Såtvedt

see bio >
Sam Taylor

Sam Taylor

see bio >
Jens Thraenhart

Jens Thraenhart

see bio >
Daniel Valverde Bagnarello

Daniel Valverde Bagnarello

see bio >
Melanie De Vocht

Melanie De Vocht

see bio >

FAQ

In order to enroll in a course, please fill out a form by clicking on the “request details” button which you can find in the description section of each course as well as on the bottom of this page. We will send you further details regarding the enrollment process.

Absolutely not! All our courses are held entirely online. You can learn from wherever you are.

We estimate you will have to devote between 3-5 hours a week to successfully complete a course.

Each week, you will have to attend the online sessions and engage with the learning material provided. This means that you will need to join the webinars and other ‘live’ sessions, which will last from one to three hours, depending on the course type and the week of the programme. The learning material is designed to take approximately two hours of self-study engagement each week. In addition, depending on the course type, you will also need to turn in a shorter or longer assignment.

The courses offered by International Place Branding Association (IPBA) are the first and only of its kind. The programme provides the knowledge and tools to successfully manage place brands. All lectures and webinars are held by internationally recognized experts in the area of place and destination branding. The same applies to events. Participants will also receive additional materials and will be granted access to the presentations. IPBA Academy ensures a high quality of content and an interactive structure of the courses.

The key benefits are:

  • State-of-the-art knowledge, material and examples from around the world
  • An array of skills and proficiencies in place branding implementation and effective place brand management.
  • Tutorials and interaction with the world’s best-known tutors, researchers and practitioners in the field.
  • An opportunity to advance your career in place branding.
  • Constructive feedback from the tutors and regular contact through multiple channels of communication.
  • Great networking opportunities with fellow participants, alumni and IPBA members as well as access to the IPBA network and conference discounts.
  • A combination of specially developed online lectures, webinars, interactive activities and practical exercises.

The tutors are amongst the world’s best-known experts on place branding. The IPBA can guarantee that you will interact with leading researchers who have produced cutting-edge knowledge in the field, consultants who have undertaken some of the best place branding implementation projects and practitioners who are responsible for some of the world’s best place brands.

The programme uses a combination of interactive lectures and webinars, recorded lectures, case studies, practical activities and exercises, structured discussions and guest lectures by industry experts to provide participants with a critical appreciation of the key concepts and techniques associated with place branding in the contemporary environment of place and tourism development.

Yes, you will have the chance to meet and interact with your tutors and with your fellow participants in specially designed networking events and via the course’s Discussion Board. The connection to the IPBA will mean that you can stay connected to fellow participants and alumni as well as others interested in place branding through the IPBA newsletter and conference.

Yes! You will be able to implement the knowledge developed through the courses in your professional projects. The courses will equip you with the knowledge, personal skills and transferable skills necessary to design, lead and implement successful place and destination branding strategies. Our courses are ideal to foster your professional development!

Participants have free access to different online events (such as individual lectures or seminars) while being enrolled in a course at IPBA Academy and within one year of having completed a course. They also receive a discount for the IPBA annual conference and additionally, from our supporting partner – a 50% off discount of a yearly membership at PlaceBrandObserver.com.

Please check the description of each course.

IPBA Academy uses a dedicated user-friendly platform for the majority of activities and interactions. You will receive details once you have enrolled.

The majority of classes are conducted in real-time. However, some lectures might be recorded earlier due to time zone differences or due to technical  issues. Webinars are always live in order to provide the highest level of service and enable interactions with tutors and among participants. Nevertheless, all classes are recorded and are accessible for up to a week for those participants who were not able to attend or for those who would like to revisit them.

After you complete the admission form, you will be given 2 options to proceed with the payment: by making a direct bank transfer or through PayPal.

Yes, we offer a 30% discount for students currently enrolled in a university (you have to present the proof of your student status). We also offer a 20% discount for groups (2 and more persons from the same organization). As a recurring participant of IPBA Academy, you are entitled to receive a 20% discount for the next course(s). Please note that discounts cannot be combined. For any further discounts please contact us by sending an e-mail to: academy@placebranding.org and we will try to assist.

It is possible to pay in two installments only for the longer courses (min. 6 weeks long).

Once you are enrolled it is not possible to withdraw from the course.

We keep it small. The group can be up to 18 participants, no more. It is because we want to make sure that each participent is granted the highest level of devotion by the IPBA Academy.

In case you are not be able to participate in a class, you will receive a recording so you will have the possibility to catch up and not miss out on anything.

Yes, you will receive an IPBA-accredited certificate of completion. The certificate will be stamped and sent to you by regular mail.

Courses are held in English. However, it is possible to run them in other languages as dedicated courses to a particular group of participants. This is the subject of separate agreement. For more information, please contact us at academy@placebranding.org.

Due to the fact that we need to take into consideration different holidays as well as accommodate for breaks in the case of longer courses (min. 6 weeks long) to give sufficient time for completing the assignments, therefore we cannot consider a week as a calendar week but as a working week.

Testimonials.

Energy Cities

IPBA offered us a useful training to introduce a group of European cities to the concept of place branding and how to develop a brand for a city. The trainers were very knowledgeable and provided a lot of practical examples to inspire our future work!

Sara Giovannini Communications & EU Policy at Energy Cities, Belgium
Sam Taylor

The IPBA online courses bring together the best minds in the place branding world, not only educating with the latest academic research but with real life, practical case studies. I’ve already applied learnings in my day job.

Sam Taylor Senior Marketing Manager at ChristchurchNZ, New Zealand
Chris Wade

As a placemaking professional that includes being part of the UK Government’s High Street Task Force, the IPBA Academy course on Place Brand Identity was a very effective way of filling in gaps in my knowledge and learning from international examples. The online delivery of the course is very clear and manageable alongside my work. Interaction is encouraged with other participants from around the globe and constructive feedback provided to increase the learning from the course assignment.

Chris Wade FIPM, Director of People & Places Partnership Ltd. and U.K. Government High Streets Task Force expert

Management team.

Magdalena Florek

Magdalena Florek IPBA Education Director

coordinates the designing and implementation of the educational programs of the IPBA academy; oversees marketing activities of the IPBA Academy; enrolls guest speakers; evaluates curricula, teaching procedures and educational materials within the education system of the IPBA Academy.

see bio >
Mihalis Kavaratzis

Mihalis Kavaratzis Programme Coordinator

plans and coordinates educational programs of the IPBA Academy; determines and ensures implementation of policies, procedures and practices; coordinates content for online courses; organizes and oversees the programs agenda; supports growth and development of the education system of the IPBA Academy.

see bio >
Emilia Florek-Guerrero

Emilia Florek-Guerrero Marketing & Communication Manager

manages program-related internal and external marketing communication; coordinates the enrollment process; promotes the IPBA Academy's mission, products, and services.

Jakub Gazda Technical and Operational Manager

manages operating and information systems infrastructure; provides support for the entire online learning process; responsible for maintaining the learning platform.