Mindful Leadership Programme – In collaboration with Kyoto University – Japan

This 5-day, in-person programme held in Kyoto, Japan, will offer a unique opportunity to explore mindfulness according to its deepest roots in ancient wisdom traditions, most advanced sciences, and best applications for leaders in the 21st century.

Included in the programme:

• Mindfulness teaching from Professor Ruth Baer and Stanley Ng (Oxford team)
• Lectures from Professor Marc-Henri Deroche (Kyoto University)
• Lunch
• Refreshments
• Japanese cultural experiences (see below)
• A professional certificate of attendance will be delivered at the end of the programme

Japanese cultural experiences:

Ikebana (Flower Arrangement) Experience
Learning how to use attention to notice and immerse yourself to the experience of beauty in your daily life through dialogue with flowers.

Japanese Tea Ceremony Experience
Learning about the sense of care and respect that can color your awareness to yourselves and others through the experience of preparing and sharing tea.

Museum Experience
Training your cognitive flexibility and aesthetic perception in a privatized museum by attending to art works in both focused and open manner.

Garden Experience
Learning to turn your attention to each element of your experience, expanding and resting in the open space, and experientially understanding the nourishing effects of nature.

Marc-Henri Deroche is Associate Professor at Kyoto University, Japan, where he teaches Buddhist studies and supervises the Mindful Living Research Group, a transdisciplinary graduate seminar integrating Asian wisdom traditions, Western philosophy, and cognitive psychology.

Born in France, he holds master’s degree and PhD in East Asian Studies at the École Pratique des Hautes Études (Sorbonne, Paris). He has trained in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy with the University of Oxford’s Mindfulness Centre and the Oxford Mindfulness Foundation.

He has lived in Kyoto since 2008 and has travelled extensively in the Himalayan and Tibetan cultural world.

Connect with Professor Deroche on LinkedIn

Stanley Ng is an International Advisor for Oxford Mindfulness and the founder of Mindful Circle, a not-for-profit social enterprise created to bring evidence-based mindfulness practices to the workplace and the community in an accessible and sustainable way. He holds a Master’s in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (University of Oxford) and a Master’s in Coaching and Consulting for Change (INSEAD). Stanley also completed the Advanced Executive Coaching Programme at Cambridge University.

After a 15-year career in financial institutions, Stanley turned to focus on mindfulness and leadership development. His experience in high-performance environments led him to explore how mindfulness can foster resilience, well-being, and more compassionate leadership. In 2010, he founded Sage Capital, specialising in organisational and leadership development.

Connect with Stanley on LinkedIn

Professor Ruth Baer is a clinical psychologist and a mindfulness researcher, teacher, trainer, supervisor, and practitioner. Before moving to Oxford in 2019, Ruth was a Professor of Psychology at the University of Kentucky, where she conducted research on mindfulness and taught and supervised several mindfulness-based programmes in a doctoral programme in clinical psychology. Her scholarly interests include conceptualisation and assessment of mindfulness, effects of mindfulness-based programmes, mechanisms of change, and harm and adverse events in mindfulness practice. She’s also very much interested in professional training and ethics in the mindfulness field.

Ruth is the Director of the Master of Studies in MBCT, a University of Oxford degree programme managed jointly by the Departments of Psychiatry and Continuing Education. She teaches mindfulness courses, supervises mindfulness teachers, and collaborates on research papers with colleagues at the University.

Connect with Ruth on LinkedIn

Ryotaro Kusumoto, MPhil (Kyoto University), is a PhD student at Kyoto University GSAIS, and also has trained as a teacher in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Life with Oxford Mindfulness.

His research has previously elucidated traditional Japanese Buddhist educative frameworks (published in Religions), and been presented, among others, at the conferences of the International Society for Contemplative Research, and the Comparative and International Education Society.

His doctoral thesis aims at re-articulating and implementing mindfulness in higher education and life-long learning.

Connect with Ryotaro on LinkedIn

The programme runs for 5 days from 16 September 2025 – 20 September 2025. The daily schedule runs from 09:00-17:00.

“Simply excellent. In AWE! Best mindfulness course! Wonderful teachers, compassionate, teaching with their hearts.”

“This event was PROFOUND. It’s been extraordinarily impactful on me and I anticipate on my life ahead… I want to acknowledge Marc-Henri Deroche and Stanley Ng. It’s in MASSIVE part thanks to them, their knowledge, skill, care and wonderful capabilities to weave together different ideas, practices, and even modalities. I have deep gratitude to them both for their leadership and teaching – THANK YOU! The Japanese cultural events were integral to illustrating the concepts we were learning and gave us further opportunities to deepen our learning. Absolutely AWESOME (in the traditional sense…) Thank you so much.”

“A magical experience having this in Kyoto. Also useful to have the course presented in an intensive way. I noticed a real shift in my attention over the 5 days.”

“I had such a precious time and experiences her and am so glad to be here! Thank you so much.”

You can apply for this course if you:

• Can commit to attending all 5 days of the programme.
• Are over 18 years of age.
• Are able to speak and understand the English language (both spoken and written) to a level where you can fully take part in the course without the need for additional translation support.