Since Toyota Kata was first published by Mike Rother, several outstanding courses have been developed in the Kata community to move learners from basic awareness, to skill, and on to mastery. A few of our favorite courses, in a variety of formats, are listed below. If we missed one, feel free to add it to the comments.
Sessions marked with 
are a few of our favorites.
TOYOTA KATA CONFERENCES & SEMINARS
Kata Summit International (KataCon)
Details: February 20-21, 2020, Austin, TX
Hosts: Lean Frontiers, Inc.
Description: KataCon is the annual gathering place for Toyota Kata practitioners across North America and around the globe. It’s where the “convinced” and the “curious” gather to share what they’re learning, freely and enthusiastically. There is an interesting mix of short keynotes, hands-on breakout sessions, intensive deep dives, and mini-updates from a variety of practitioners, industries, and applications. So, come with questions, and if you have them, answers, because at KataCon we’re ALL learners and coaches.
Website: http://katasummit.com
Toyota Kata & TWI Summit Europe
Details: June 4-5, 2020, Barcelona, Spain
Hosts: Lean Frontiers, Inc. & Business Through People
Description: This event is unique with its focus on the skills of Toyota Kata paired with the proven practice routines of TWI Job Instruction, Job Relations, and Job Methods. Choose your learning path with a focus exclusively on Kata or mix TWI learning along with unique sessions related to Kata, TWI, and an Improvement Culture. And all of this takes place in an intensely hands-on environment with plenty of opportunity to practice, practice, practice!
Website: https://twiandkatasummit.eu
Kata Convention
Hosts: The Kata School Germany
Description: At the KATA Convention, “confident” and “curious” gather to enthusiastically share and learn. There is an interesting mix of keynotes, breakout sessions, intense “dives” and mini-updates by various users from different industries and institutions.
Website: http://kata-convention.de
KataCon Europe
Hosts: Joakim Hillberg, Pia Anhede from Revere and Rikard Sjostrom
Description: The KataCon Europe conference happens every two years and draws participants from across Europe.
Website: kataeurope.eu
Kata Practitioner Days
Hosts: Various
Description: The purpose of a KPD is to provide a compact, uncomplicated forum for sharing first-hand experiences and lessons learned from real practice of the Improvement Kata and Coaching Kata patterns. A KPD is a regional forum for practitioners to share their knowledge with anyone who is interested in IK/CK.
Website: http://katasummit.com/kpd
HANDS-ON TOYOTA KATA WORKSHOPS
SkillPoint for Toyota Kata Workshop
Hosts: Lean Frontiers, Inc., TWI Institute, C4ED
Description: A participant in the 3-day Skillpoint for Toyota Kata Workshop will, with confidence, be able to facilitate the application of the Improvement Kata, with a focus on the Coaching Kata, coaching others in experimenting towards Target Conditions. WORLD-CLASS SIMULATION: The workshop uses the exact same simulation once used by Toyota to teach Toyota Production System principles and practices. It is a real-life simulation like no other!
Website: https://leanfrontiers.com/skillpointkata/
Toyota Kata Train-the-Trainer
Hosts: TWI Institute
Description: The TWI Institute has taken the proven TWI Training methods and created both 10-hour Kata Training as well as Train-the-Trainer training.
Website: https://twi-institute.org/events
NIST MEP Network
Hosts: Various Manufacturing Extension Partnerships (NIST MEP)
Description: NIST MEP Network has representative organizations in each of the United States. These organizations routinely offer Kata workshops for their constituents.
KATA DOJO
Hosts: Tilo Schwarz / Various
Description: Kata Dojo is a training setup that offers a deliberate way to develop new Coaches and continuously improve the ability of the established ones.
Website: https://www.tiloschwarz.com/tk-dojo
Kata for Daily Improvement
Hosts: University of Michigan
Description: This practical three-day workshop taught by experts Drew Locher and Toni Benner will focus on the Improvement Kata – a routine for rapid PDCA cycles – and the Coaching Kata, a routine for leaders to develop the improvement skills of others. You will have the opportunity to practice both Katas in a simulation. Together, they provide the methodology to create a culture of daily improvement.
Website: http://isd.engin.umich.edu/professional-programs/kata-for-daily-improvement/index.htm
Improvement Kata / Coaching Kata Workshop
Hosts: Lean Enterprise Institute
Description: We see the attendees of this program as the “Scouts” and as an “Advance Group” in their organizations. By learning from the original TK researchers and key practitioners attendees will be better equipped to plan, monitor and fine-tune their organization’s TK teaching/coaching approach.
Website:
ON-LINE TOYOTA KATA COURSES
Toyota Kata Knowledge Certification
Hosts: Lean Frontiers, Inc. and TWI Institute
Description: This online course includes more than 3 hours of on-demand videos accompanied by a rigorous set of quiz questions. The videos include several case study examples and a session on each of the 4 steps of the Improvement Kata. Oscar Roche and Joakim Bjurstrum (TWI Institute Toyota Kata Master Trainers) are joined by Sam Wagner from Fast Global Solutions, a very experienced practitioner and Scott Laundry from the TWI Institute Syracuse. Scott is a very active coach and second coach in many organizations as well as being an Institute Toyota Kata 10-Hour Trainer. Our system is an efficient and effective way of learning about Toyota Kata if reading is not your thing. You can “come and go” as you please.
Website: https://leanfrontiers.com/knowkata
On-line Improvement Kata & Coaching Kata Basics Course
Hosts: Jeff Liker, Jim Franz, and Mike Rother
Description: Lean Frontiers, organizer of the annual Kata Summit (aka KataCon), is pleased to bring to you an informative and engaging way to learn the Improvement Kata and Coaching Kata. This course is delivered by three skilled coaches, Jeff Liker, Jim Franz, and Mike Rother and is a convenient way to expose even more of your team to IK/CK.
Website: http://katasummit.com/online-kata-course
Gemba Academy Toyota Kata Course
Hosts: Gemba Academy
Description: Do you know where and how to start making improvements to your organization? The Gemba Academy Kata course will show you where and how to begin solving problems you may be facing.
Website: https://www.gembaacademy.com/school-of-lean/toyota-kata
