Between preconceived ideas and reality on the ground, the Learning Expedition is particularly relevant in the context of an approach ofcollective intelligence. Decoding a format that has been renewed, democratized and which arouses unprecedented enthusiasm!

What is a Learning Expedition? What are its objectives and benefits?

What is a Learning Expedition?

A Learning Expedition, “LEX” or “learning journey” is a inspirational journey whose objective is to discover new practices, new ways of doing things, new technologies. The goal? Transpose a teaching to a given context and/or problem.

This trip is made between colleagues from the same team or the same organization. It takes place over a short period of time (1/2 day to 5 days), in a small group (10 to 30 people), in France or abroad.

Initially reserved for an “elite” (COMEX/CODIR), the Learning Expedition has become more democratic in recent years middle managementIt thus responds to internal, HR, business and innovation challenges.

Good reasons to organize a LEX

These good reasons are numerous, as Ruben Fitoussi, co-founder of Future Agency, an innovative experiences agency specializing in Learning Expeditions.

In fact, there are 4 types of LEX, with different objectives and customer benefits. LEX can be:

• Themes to project oneself into the future of a sector and/or an industry, have a clear vision of trends and innovations, reassure in the face of change;
• Decision-making to align a vision, redefine a business strategy, develop a strategic roadmap;
• Inspirational to acculturate, inspire and bring employees on board around a company project; animate and reward a community;
• Events to guide and optimize customers' time at a trade fair with a tailor-made route and meetings (Viva Tech for example).

It all depends on your problem! The spectrum is very broad, and the examples are numerous. For example, a creative and local deconfinement organized for Rewarding Hopscotch Travel teams, or a LEX on the blockchain to understand this innovative technology for the Natixis CODIR.

Finally, the journey into the future that a LEX constitutes also takes on different faces...

A la carte format, from physical to digital

No need to take a plane to take off! Learning Expeditions have adapted to their times (reducing employees' carbon footprint, hybrid work, etc.). They are now mostly played locally, in inspiring locations. They can also take place in your living room through a virtual world tour of innovation!

The big winners of confinement, the Digital Learning Expeditions have also gained ground! Ruben Fitoussi shares with us tips for transposing these inspiring and immersive experiences into a successful virtual journey:

Whether the LEX is physical, digital or hybrid, the winning recipe remains the same. It is a clever mix of:

• Meetings with inspiring actors (startups, large groups, academics, etc.) to shake up and share good practices;
• Visits to innovative places and ecosystems to boost team creativity;
• Workshops / collective workshops to transpose the lessons to your profession and think about the next steps.

This step aside therefore makes it possible to experiment with a multitude of contexts, practices and visions in a short time and at limited cost (depending on its format).

Inspiration at the service of collective intelligence

This immersive tool is also a formidable lever to stimulate and increase collective intelligence and the potential for ideation of your teams. In particular thanks to the collective sessions which punctuate and/or conclude this learning journey.

In fact, these workshops or collective intelligence workshops are led by facilitators who mainly use the method of Design Thinking*. They thus accompany the participants in the idea generation adapted to their issues. For example: How can you transpose these lessons to your context? What are the first concrete actions to implement? How can you spread the energy of the Learning Expedition internally?

This is the purpose of this stimulating and invigorating journey!

*a human-centered agile method that aims to solve a problem efficiently, by generating ideas and quickly transforming them into concrete projects

Read also: 3 ideas to animate collaborative innovation