Executive Summer Program on Innovations in Science Diplomacy

A two-week course hosted by the Geneva-based United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), launched in collaboration with four leading academic institutions from Greater Boston. The program aims to educate the next generation of leaders in the field of science diplomacy.

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Taking place online from June 21 to July 2, 2021, UNITAR’s Executive Summer Program on Innovations in Science Diplomacy will triangulate education, research, and leadership. It will aim to educate the next generation of leaders in the field of science diplomacy and technology; facilitate research with questions and data that generate actions with evidence and options that contribute to informed decision-making, and provide leadership with science-diplomacy networks that build common interests across our globally interconnected civilization.

This program was initiated by the Science Diplomacy Center and is run in collaboration with the Program on Negotiation (PON) at Harvard Law School, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), University of Massachusetts Boston (UMass Boston), Boston University (BU), the Science Diplomacy Center, and Swissnex in Boston and New York.

The trainers are experts in the field of science diplomacy and technology coming from both academic and policy circles:

  • Professor Paul Berkman, Associated Fellow, UNITAR; Faculty Associate, Program on Negotiation (PON) at Harvard Law School; Associate Director of Science Diplomacy, Harvard-MIT Public Disputes Program
  • Professor Larry Susskind, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
  • Professor Maria Ivanova and Dean David W. Cash, University of Massachusetts (UMass) – John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies
  • Dean Adil Najam, Boston University (BU) – Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies
  • Mr. Jonas Brunschwig, Deputy CEO of Swissnex in Boston and New York

Learning Objectives

At the end of the program, participants should be able to:

  • Explain the relationship between science diplomacy theory and practice
  • Apply negotiation skills with common-interest building and conflict resolution as complementary approaches.
  • Develop effective communication skills, including policy-memo writing and interview-response speaking.
  • Integrate evidence and options that contribute to informed decision-making with governance mechanisms and built infrastructure as well as their coupling for sustainability and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
  • Contribute as a “science diplomat” with balance for the benefit of all at local-global and global-local levels.

Target Audience

The program is open to diplomats, staff of governmental and non-governmental organizations, students, researchers, academics, business representatives wishing to tackle complex challenges related to science and technology, as well as other interested individuals.

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