What We’re All About
The Academy aims to provide learning pathways for educators, educational leaders, parents and young people that help us all take part in the transformation of education globally.
It’s Time for Change on Our Terms
Around the world, we see that, for many reasons, education needs to change. It needs to happen on a fundamentally human level.
At the Academy, we aim to help individuals and institutions to find pathways towards transforming education for themselves and their communities through their own cultural perspectives.
Robert Thorn – Founder
‘Transformation means inclusive change by all of us.’
Our Senior Advisors
Mr Trevor Wicks
Trevor has a multifaceted career spanning finance, entrepreneurship, and education that a simple paragraph cannot capture. He began in banking, specializing in large-scale international projects, notably in Asia. His expertise led to roles in UNCTAD and the Foreign and Commonwealth Bankers Association. He transitioned into entrepreneurship, launching a food export business and later consulting on EU social funds. Trevor’s career then pivoted towards education, where he worked on significant projects in Malaysia and Indonesia. Currently, he’s involved in educational and business ventures across multiple countries.
His career highlights include pioneering trade finance deals, shaping banking policy, and contributing to international development initiatives.
Professor Unaeza Alvi
Professor Alvi is an expert in the field of STEAM, assessment, curriculum, innovative pedagogies, and environment education/teacher education in and with public and private sectors at both national and international levels. She has worked in diverse contexts, across three continents Asia, Africa and Australia – with ministries, government officials, heads of examination boards, district education officers, air force instructors, and at grassroots level.
As founding chair of the Science Association of Pakistan at Aga Khan and Sukkur IBS Universities, the professor has led STEAM initiatives through teacher training in rural areas, low resourced schools, and among girls in Pakistan and Africa
Nami Holderman
Nami is a versatile professional with a background in fashion design and ballet. She transitioned into education, becoming a secondary teacher and dance instructor in Japan. She gained particular expertise in International Baccalaureate (IB) programs, becoming an IB workshop leader and curriculum developer. Nami co-authored a coaching course for teens working on alternative pathways to high school success. Nami is currently a candidate of doctoral degrees in education, centred on linking EI and dance through kinaesthetic empathy and finding the value in performing arts in education, while advocating the connection between the performing arts and global leadership skills.
Mr Keith Everest
Keith Everest is a seasoned IT and business development professional with a strong track record in both corporate and entrepreneurial roles. Starting in IT management at famous UK brands OXO and Brooke Bond (now with Unilever) he transitioned into sales and consulting, securing multi-million-pound deals. His international career has spanned various industries, including IT services, manufacturing, and trade. A strategic thinker with a proven ability to drive business growth, Keith has successfully led and executed complex projects, including his role as director of EEP Global Lt supporting the European Education Project demonstrating a talent for identifying and capitalizing on market opportunities.
Mr Fauzan J Mawanda
Fauzan J. Mawanda is a talented young educator, certified by the leadership Franklin Covey Foundation for the 7 Habits. Mr Fauzan deep experience in working with teachers and children at lower and upper primary levels. Committed to professional ethics, he also has diverse and acclaimed experience in developing curriculum and conducting teacher-training and parenting programs. He has authored several books for young learners and one on smart parenting – a subject that he continues to be a strong advocate of through his current work on creating awareness about the strong relation between purposeful parenting and quality education through writing educational non-fiction books.
Amanda van Vuuren
Amanda van Vuuren is a multi-skilled professional with expertise in advanced Excel for business intelligence, Power BI, and creative design. As the lead coach for the Intel AI for Youth program and a designer for the UNISA (University of South Africa) Centre of Excellence for Student Success Analytics, she brings extensive experience in educational innovation. With over 10 years of facilitation Excel, Word, PowerPoint, SharePoint, Projects, Visio, and WordPress, Amanda excels in teaching others about her established skills. Committed to enhancing educational outcomes, she leverages her skills to support young students in learning more effectively and achieving their academic goals. Amanda manages and updates educational websites, enhancing online learning experiences, and has contributed to education through writing training manuals and creating training videos.
Apart from our highly experienced and dynamic team of advisors and catalysts, we have connections in most countries now, with leaders, school owners, principals, teachers, parents, business people and of course teenagers who recognise the need for change and have expressed their interest and determination in making transformation happen.
One way or another education will transform naturally for the better – but why don’t we do it now rather than wait? Why don’t we start helping our young and their communities transform to solve the enduring problems that our approach to education has brought us and to realise their potential now? What will your role be?
Our Vision & Mission
‘Helping Young People Make Wise Decisions and Take Wise Action for Themselves.’
Our vision is to help people transform education towards developing learner-literate learners for life who can create and identify opportunities to develop the natural attributes they have and therefore maximise the possibilities of leading meaningful, happy, and successful lives both in the natural and constructed worlds and now as well as in the unknown future.
We envision a world in which all young people have ready what they need to pursue active wisdom through their own cultural perspectives and in order to bring positive change to themselves and the communities and environments in which they live and are connected to.
Our mission is to create and inspire learning opportunities and pathways to help individuals and communities prioritise and enable the growth of learner-literate learners for life by enabling young people to develop their natural learner attributes through whatever educational system they find themselves in.
We strive to help educators, parents, learners, and learning organisations transform education by providing processes that take all members of learning organisations and communities towards an approach to education that is based on the development of shared human attributes and underpinned by their own cultural perspectives.
Learn From Each Other
Join us as a part of our learning community of coaches, contributors, supporters and course alumni.
Learn at Your Own Pace
We know how busy educators are and so most of our courses can be taken asynchronously at your own pace.
Professional Certification
Successful participants always receive a certificate of participation but we also offer certificates of application and achievement.