Unconventional, homely and exclusive venue for team meetings, leadership learning and international networking
Like a rare flower hidden in the vegetation, the Grooa Inspiria Learning Center is an unsuspected and surprisingly charming venue in between the farms and forests of the Dutch countryside. Just a short drive from Eindhoven, the Center offers a quiet and unconventional space that stimulates collaboration and creativity, as well as ample possibilities to walk and decompress in its very own private forest, and residential facilities for overnight stay.
“We wanted to create a space where everybody could feel at home and at the same time welcomed as a valued guest” confides Laura Lozza, Managing Partner of Grooa AS “We restructured an old farm, retaining some of its humble air, sprucing it up with modern functionality and adding the understated class of design furniture from my Italian family home, vintage finds from flea markets and touches of international art crafts. We were determined to separate ourselves from conventional and impersonal meeting rooms; we opened large windows to get lots of light and built a mosaic stone path to lead us into our own forest, where we carry on parts of our workshops, fully immersed in nature.”
From the outside the Center may look just like any other farmhouses in the neighborhood, but as soon as you walk through its red door, you know you are in for a new experience. The warm welcome at reception, the bowls of fresh fruit, the aroma of espresso coffee, the smiles, the colors, everything puts the visitor at center stage.
Whether you wish to organize a facilitated team meeting, attend a training event, co-design your own leadership program, or simply have a mindful day in the forest together with your group, the Grooa staff of international business-savvy trainers and coaches are always happy to help with creative suggestions, dedication and competence.
“We like to take care of every details to make our guests comfortable, so they can focus on their learning” tells us Marketing Consultant Sharon Chirila “We also pride ourselves in holding a sustainable business; the Center is entirely powered by solar energy and we source fresh food locally.”
The Center started as a learning outreach of Norwegian company Grooa (whose name comes from a Nordic mythological figure able to read into the future). The intention was to bring “Leading with a Smile” learning opportunities to one of the most lively and international communities in Europe, the Brainport area surrounding Eindhoven. The groundbreaking work by the Grooa founders revolves around the principle that “everybody is in a position to mobilize others, not by imposing their own ideas, but by co-creating, with courage, confidence curiosity and passion; hence everyone can be a leader …with a smile”
Since its creation, numerous local and international professionals, managers, entrepreneurs and leaders, have attended Grooa’s courses or arranged their workshops at the Inspiria Center. Also international spouses and executives in transition found the leadership retreats instrumental to overcome a difficult period and regain momentum.
“We receive numerous testimonials about the effectiveness of our courses, adds Laura Lozza; like a former P&G Director currently providing strategic consultancy to innovative companies who after a CLEAR Mindset retreat could successfully tackle a particularly difficult client negotiation; or the local Eindhoven politician who jokingly tells us that if she had to pay for the actual value of our training she would have to sell her house; or Kavitha Varathan, founder of the Expat Spouses Initiatives, who enjoyed our training and is recommending our Academy to her entire network; or yet again the senior international executive made redundant a year ago, who invested in our training and found it instrumental to help land a top job in another global company. All these testimonials warm our heart and encourage us to continue to do our very best for our Clients”
The Center is located on the outskirt of Gemert and it is opened from end February to end November. There is parking onsite, but participants are encouraged to share transportation, while airport pick up is arranged for guests who come from abroad.
“It is exciting to be in the room with a diverse group of people; we have participants flying in from France, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, even Japan; we have Dutch based international participants from Latin America, India, Italy, US; and of course many Dutch professionals and entrepreneurs” confirms Elena Digirolamo, a Grooa consultant and workshop co-facilitator “We encourage diversity of ideas and mixing diverse people is always a guarantee of additional learning and fun”
