SIPA’s Kent Global Leadership Program Now Accepting Applications for its 2026 Summer Training Seminar

The Kent Global Leadership Program is pleased to announce the opening of applications for the 2026 Summer Training Seminar. The sixth edition of the seminar will take place in person on the Columbia University campus from June 1–5, 2026, and will combine experiential skills building and expert panel discussions. Thanks to the generosity of our founding donor, Muhtar Kent, the seminar is tuition-free for a select group of midcareer diplomats. Participants will discuss the emerging dynamics of twenty-first-century conflict and learn the tools, knowledge, and negotiating techniques necessary to address them.

The 2026 summer training will focus on a new theme entitled The Transformation of Conflict: Responding to an Age of New Vulnerabilities. Great-power conflict is back, and the battlefield has expanded dramatically. How can nations adapt to new types of warfare such as AI-powered autonomous weapons, cyberattacks, and disinformation? As trade is increasingly weaponized, will the threat of economic peril dictate security arrangements? How will the UN and other international institutions adapt to this new landscape? Does international law still function in an age of unilateralism? Do we need to revisit long-accepted notions of sovereignty to fight back?

The director of the program, SIPA professor Jean-Marie Guéhenno, has served as under-secretary-general of the United Nations for Peacekeeping Operations. He recently gave the 2024 Tanner Lecture on Human Values at Oxford University.

The theme of last year's training was Early Warning: The Race to Forecast Conflict in an Era of Rapid Change. It featured panel discussions on the challenge of anticipation in light of technological developments in AI, biotechnology, cyberconflict, and disinformation, followed by attempts to imagine a better future for individual countries and the international community as a whole. Videos of last year's panels and fireside chats are available to view.

For further information on the program, download our brochure or visit our website. To apply, please send a cover letter, CV, and two letters of recommendation (one from a direct supervisor) to [email protected].