Lesna in Poland, is set to welcome a “first-of-its-kind” immersive learning experience and conference next month, dubbed by its creators “The College of Extraordinary Experiences”.

Taking place between 10 and 13 November, the event brings together some of the most high-profile experience designers in the world to share with delegates how to stage engaging, memorable and extraordinary experiences, using the grand setting of Lesna’s Czocha Castle as the backdrop.

“The economy has evolved to suit the needs of the customer,” said Paul Bulencea, co-creator of the event, speaking to Attractions Management. “If you take examples of things like Cirque du Soleil, Tomorrowland and Disneyland – this is what we mean by an experience. Using good and services as props for an overall experience, you create a whole idea around the concept of your brand.”

A stellar lineup of speakers are set to speak at the event, including the likes of Mark Ordesky, executive producer of The Lord of the Rings trilogy; Kim Wylie, global lead for change and transformation at Google; Sara Thacher, creative lead at Walt Disney Imagineering R&D; and Nast Marrero, senior agile coach at Lego.

The College is a hands-on experience, with speakers participating in group activities alongside attendees, with groups working together to complete a set of experience-oriented challenges. Each “professor”, as the speakers are known, will also deliver a series of inspirational talks, which will last 15 minutes before a group challenge related to their area of expertise.

“The interesting thing about this conference is diversity,” said Bulencea. “We have experts speaking from completely different disciplines but they are connected at a base level. It all has to do with creativity and bringing that creative side out of people.”

The inaugural event is the first of what will become an annual conference, with this year’s theme being “Attack of the Hydra” – a fictional enemy participants learn to defeat during the sessions.

“Participants at the College will learn the ways of the great enemy, the many-headed and powerful Destructive Design Hydra, equipping themselves with the tools to fight it,” said Bulencea.

“Heads of the Hydra include not only fear and arrogance, but also conservatism, complacency, consensus and other things holding us back from staging truly extraordinary experiences.”

Following the inaugural event, its organisers want to create a strong alumni network, combining experts from different fields to “create even bigger and better events in the future.”

For more information on the College of Extraordinary Experiences, click here.