YPI Gearing Up for Tenth Year

MMG Insurance and the University of Maine at Presque Isle are pleased to announce that nominations are now open for the Young Professionals Institute.

The Institute is celebrating a special milestone this year: 10 years of providing area professionals with impactful leadership development training. The Institute will run this year on Wednesdays from March 1 to April 12. The online nomination/application form is available at www.umpi.edu/ypi. The nomination deadline is Monday, Jan. 23.

The Institute provides the area’s young professionals with a one-of-a-kind professional development opportunity—a 7-week short course designed specifically for emerging leaders looking to refine the skills that will bring them long-term success in their careers. Participants hone their professional skills through hands-on activities, on-the-spot public speaking assignments, and business simulation exercises. Along the way, participants visit local businesses and organizations to complete on-site assignments and hear presentations by embedded guests from the public and private sectors. The Institute culminates in a showcase presentation before area business and community leaders and YPI graduates.

The theme of this year’s Institute is CONNECTING, which will focus on 10 skills that the most successful people excel at: Communication, Optimization, Networking, Nimbleness, Engagement, Customer Service, Teambuilding, Influence, Navigating and Goal Setting. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of these important leadership skills and how to utilize them to advance the needs and goals of their organization.

During the short course, participants will take part in role-playing scenarios that refine their abilities to pitch proposals and deliver presentations, conduct mock interviews that give them experience in working with the media, and network with local officials and statewide leaders.

There are only 16 seats available for YPI 10. Professionals interested in taking the course must submit their names for nomination or have their business employer nominate them. The nomination deadline is Monday, Jan. 23. Selections will be announced Monday, Jan. 30. A $200 registration fee, paid by course participants or their business sponsors, is due by Monday, Feb. 20.

This year’s YPI sessions will be held on March 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29, and April 5 and 12, 2017. Most sessions will be held on Wednesdays from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Alumni Room of UMPI’s Campus Center. However, class time will be expanded from 3:30-6:30 p.m. during an extended session at MMG Insurance March 29.

For more information about the short course, which is not being offered for academic credit, please visit www.umpi.edu/ypi or contact Linda McLaughlin in UMPI’s College of Professional Programs at 207-768-9740 or e-mail linda.mclaughlin1@maine.edu.