We launched the AI Global Governance (AIGG) Summer School in 2024 to equip participants with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate the fast-changing landscape of AI governance in an increasingly fragmented world. The programme examines the opportunities and risks that artificial intelligence creates for international regulatory frameworks, security dynamics, and ethical standards, with a focus on promoting fair, transparent, and accountable AI development and deployment.
AI is transforming the global balance of power, reshaping cooperation among states, and changing the way countries prepare for and conduct warfare. It also gives rise to new governance challenges such as algorithmic bias, digital authoritarianism, and the use of autonomous systems in conflict. Participants explore these issues through comparative perspectives from the European Union, the United States, Japan, and China, analysing how AI affects international relations, human rights, labour markets, and environmental sustainability.
The AIGG Summer School strengthens participants’ ability to engage critically with the policy and governance dimensions of AI. Through expert-led sessions, simulations, and institutional visits, including to the EU, NATO, and the United Nations Development Programme, participants learn to assess systemic risks, identify governance gaps, and design strategies to mitigate unintended consequences. The interdisciplinary approach integrates theoretical insight with practical experience, preparing participants to address emerging challenges as AI becomes increasingly embedded in global decision-making.
By the end of the summer school, participants will be able to:
Understand how AI is affecting global governance, international relations, public policy, and security;
Identify the main regulatory, ethical, and geopolitical challenges raised by the development and deployment of AI;
Compare different regional and international approaches to AI governance, including those of the EU, the US, China, Japan, and other key actors;
Assess how AI is influencing power dynamics, competition, labour, human rights, and democratic governance;
Examine how governments, international organisations, regulators, and companies are responding to the opportunities and risks created by AI;
Analyse key debates around AI safety, accountability, transparency, bias, and systemic risk;
Explore the governance challenges linked to AI in defence, conflict, and security policy;
Apply conceptual and policy knowledge to real-world cases and practical governance questions.
The summer school is designed to help participants develop the following skills:
Technology Awareness: Familiarity with key AI technologies, including autonomous systems, machine learning, and AI safety, to understand the technical challenges in governance.
Critical Thinking: Ability to assess and analyze complex AI governance issues from multiple perspectives, including ethical, legal, and societal.
Policy Analysis: Skill in evaluating and comparing regulatory frameworks and understanding their implications for global AI governance.
Ethical Reasoning: Ability to assess the ethical implications of AI technologies and their potential impact on society, with a focus on fairness, transparency, and accountability.
International Relations Knowledge: Understanding of global governance structures, international relations, the role of the EU and of multilateral organizations like the G7, OECD, and the UN in shaping AI policy.
Problem-Solving: Capability to develop practical, innovative solutions for complex AI governance challenges, particularly in the context of developing countries and emerging technologies.
Adaptability and Global Awareness: Capacity to adjust to rapidly evolving AI technologies and the global nature of AI governance, understanding its impact across different regions and contexts.
This programme is designed for participants who want to engage seriously with the policy, regulatory, geopolitical, and institutional questions raised by artificial intelligence. It is particularly relevant for professionals working in public policy, international affairs, diplomacy, regulation, technology governance, and related fields, as well as for researchers and graduate students with a strong interest in AI governance.
The Summer School welcomes applicants from government, international organisations, think tanks, academia, civil society, and the private sector. This may include policymakers, diplomats, regulatory professionals, researchers, analysts, legal and technology specialists, and others whose work touches on the governance of AI.It is best suited to participants looking for a structured and substantive understanding of how AI is reshaping global affairs and how governance systems are responding in practice.
AIGG also offers a valuable opportunity to learn from established academics, policymakers, and practitioners, and to engage with an international group of peers in Brussels.
Prof. Lamont is Head of Progamme for AI Governance at the Global Governance Institute in Brussels and Professor of International Relations at Tokyo International University. At Tokyo International University he also serves as Vice Dean of the Graduate School of International Relations. His research interests are at the intersection of global governance, technology, and global justice. His publications have appeared in peer-reviewed journals including Peacebuilding, Journal of Democracy, Human Rights Review, International Journal of Human Rights, and Europe-Asia Studies among others. He has also authored or edited numerous books in the fields of transitional justice and human rights. Prof. Lamont holds a PhD in Politics from the University of Glasgow, an MSc in International and European Politics from the University of Edinburgh, and a BA in International Studies from the University of Mississippi. He was also a Fulbright fellow at the University of Zagreb and an RCUK postdoctoral fellow at the University of Ulster.
David Timis is a Senior Fellow in the AI Governance programme. He is also an AI Governance Global Communications & Public Affairs Manager at Generation, one of the largest skilling and employment nonprofits in the world, where he oversees the organisation's storytelling globally and advocacy work at a EU level. He speaks regularly about AI and the risks and opportunities it presents for people, businesses and society. David is also the Community Champion for the BeNeLux & France region, Co-Lead for the 2025 edition of SHAPE Europe & Eurasia, and Longevity Economy Taskforce Member within the Global Shapers Community (a young leaders initiative of the World Economic Forum). He previously led the EU Civics Outreach efforts at Google during both the 2019 and 2024 EU Elections, and before that he was a UN Youth Delegate representing Romania. His career spans a range of public, private and third sector organisations including L'Oreal, Mars Inc., Burson (formerly known as BCW), Chatham House, and the Council of Europe.
Andrej Zwitter is Professor of Human and Data Sciences as well as Director of theResearch Centre for Human and Data Sciences at the University of Klagenfurt, Austria. He served as Dean of the Faculty Campus Fryslan and founding dean of the University College Fryslan, University of Groningen, Netherlands. He was a founding board member of the WEF Chapter Zero, Netherlands and of the urban data centre Data Fryslân. He was also the program director of the research group on Human Flourshing at The New Institute in Hamburg. His expertise covers data governance, law and ethics of digitalization, as well as emergency management and sustainability and human flourishing.
Dr. Oskar Josef Gstrein is Associate Professor at the interdisciplinary Faculty Campus Fryslan, University of Groningen in The Netherlands. He is also Programme Director of the BSc Data Science & Society, Scholar on 'Data Autonomy' at the Jantina Tammes School of Digital Society, Technology and AI, and Member of the University of Groningen Alliance for Digital Autonomy (ADA).His overall research theme is 'Human Dignity in the Digital Age'. In his research he explores the transitions from (e.g. legal/ethical/policy) principles to concrete legal or governance frameworks in the areas of digital autonomy and artificial intelligence. His research also covers the topics data protection, value-based digital infrastructure, and security related research.Oskar joined the University of Groningen to work with the first UN Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy on aspects related to internet governance. His teaching is inspired by a contemporary interpretation of the Humboldtian model of higher education.
Mihalis Kritikos is the new Secretary of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE) and a Senior Policy Analyst at the Ethics and Integrity Sector of the European Commission (DG-Research and Innovation) working on the ethical development of emerging technologies with a special emphasis on AI Ethics. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Brussels School of Governance (VUB) on digital ethics and rights, digital transition, AI Governance and Values and responsible innovation and author of 2 books in the field of disruptive technologies (Ethical AI Surveillance in the Workplace, Emerald, 2023 and EU Policy-Making on GMOs: The False Promise of Proceduralism, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018) Before that, he worked at the Scientific Foresight Service of the European Parliament (STOA/EPRS) as a legal/ethics advisor on Science and Technology issues.
Simona Demková is an Assistant Professor in European Law at the Europa Institute of Leiden University. Her research focuses on EU digital regulation, particularly the evolving enforcement architecture of the EU digital acquis and the constitutional and administrative challenges arising from the design of new enforcement authorities at EU and Member State level. More broadly, her work explores the intersection of European administrative and constitutional law, fundamental rights protection, and the regulation of emerging digital technologies. She currently leads a collaborative research project on the EU’s human-centred digital transformation, funded by a Leiden University starter grant, and is the author of the monograph Automated Decision-Making and Effective Remedies (Edward Elgar, 2023). Before joining Leiden University, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Luxembourg in the interdisciplinary project DILLAN (Digitalisation, Law and Innovation). She completed her PhD at the University of Luxembourg under the supervision of Professor Herwig Hofmann. She was a visiting scholar at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa (2024) and the European University Institute (2020).
Dr Raluca Csernatoni is a Research Fellow at Carnegie Europe in Brussels, Belgium, specialising in European security and defence, with an emphasis on emerging and disruptive technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI). At Carnegie Europe, she serves as a Team Leader and Senior Research Expert on new technologies for the EU-funded project, EU Cyber Diplomacy Initiative - EU Cyber Direct (EUCD), and oversees Carnegie Europe’s research on ‘The EU’s Techno-Politics of AI’. Csernatoni is currently a Guest Professor on European security and defence, diplomacy, and global governance, focusing on their connection with new technologies, at the Brussels School of Governance (BSoG) and its Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy (CSDS), as well as Vesalius College (VeCo) at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Belgium. At CSDS, she is a Senior Researcher working on digital technologies for the EU-funded project, ‘Indo-Pacific-European Hub for Digital Partnerships: Trusted Digital Technologies for Sustainable Well-Being' (INPACE), and co-leads the Flemish Research Council (FWO) Research Network ‘Technology, Security and Conflict’ (2024-2029). Recently, Csernatoni also joined as a Guest Professor the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. She co-leads the ‘Governance of Emerging Technology’ Research Group with the Centre on Security and Crisis Governance (CRITIC) at the Royal Military College Saint-Jean, Canada.
Adalberto González Ayala has been building intelligent systems since the 1990s – from early robotics and microprocessors through to production AI at scale. Over three decades he has shipped innovation for Fortune 100 companies, founded four corporate innovation labs including the first Generative AI garage at Accenture, and co-invented AI patents recognized in 29 countries. He was named Inventor of the Year. Today, as Co-Founder and AI Strategy & Engineering at Design Thinking Japan, he leads the Future Signals research programme, annual human-AI collaborative forecasting on structural shifts in how organizations and enterprises engage with AI. The 2026 report, AI: The Architecture of Intent, identifies five signals challenging conventional assumptions about capability, governance, and human judgment.He still codes. It changes every decision he makes.
Attending the AIGG Summer School was a profoundly eye‐opening experience—what I’ll remember most are the intense ethical debates that threaded every session, from our discussions on catastrophic AI risks and autonomy to the case studies on AI’s impact on human rights and climate justice. Each speaker pushed me to grapple with questions of fairness, accountability, and the moral limits of automated decision‐making. Even our visits to the UN’s human rights office and the EU AI Office were structured around ethical inquiry, showing how values translate into policy in real time. I left energized, my thinking sharpened by hard questions about bias, transparency, and the public good, and inspired to bring these ethical insights back to boardrooms and classrooms.
Andiara, Brazil – AIGG 2025
The Global Governance Institute’s AI Governance Program provided an excellent deep dive into the security, geopolitical, and regulatory challenges posed by high-risk AI systems, particularly in humanitarian and conflict contexts. Engaging with experts from NATO, the EU, the UN, and leading think tanks offered valuable insights into how global governance frameworks are evolving in response to emerging technologies. The lecturers and organisers were also outstanding, bringing together practitioners from across disciplines to enable the kind of interdisciplinary dialogue critical for advancing responsible AI governance. I highly recommend the program!
Isabella, Switzerland – AIGG 2025
The course offered in-depth discussions led by experts in the field. It went beyond the topic of AI Governance to include valuable market comparisons, focusing on the EU, the US, China, and Japan, as well as critical discussions on the themes such as AI and Human Rights, Climate Change, and International Justice. The visits to institutions such as NATO, the European Commission’s AI Office, and the United Nations were both engaging and informative. The faculty and the entire organizing team were exceptionally kind and welcoming.
Larissa, Brazil – AIGG 2025
To apply please fill out the application form. Once your form has been submitted successfully, you will receive a confirmation email. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, and you can expect a response within no more than one week of submission. As places are limited, early application is encouraged. Successful applicants will receive further information on the next steps after acceptance. If you need any help submitting your application or have any questions, please get in touch.
The Global Governance Institute will award a certificate to all participants who successfully complete the summer programme. This can be achieved if participants attend a minimum of 70% of sessions, actively engage in all activities, and complete the assignments.
For the 2026 edition, the tuition fee has been set at 1800 EUR, which covers participation in all sessions, thematic visits, learning materials and a three-month access to the digital learning platform, as well as lunch, coffee and refreshments throughout the programme, a reception, the group dinner, and social activities in Brussels.
Please note that we cannot sponsor participants through scholarships or tuition waivers.
GGI reserves the right to cancel the activity up to two weeks prior to the scheduled start date. In the event of cancellation, any registration fees already paid will be fully refunded. Similarly, participants can withdraw from the programme, and receive a refund upon written notification as follows: 30 or more days before the start – full refund, 15 to 29 days before the start – 50% refund. No refund will be granted if notification of withdrawal is given fewer than 15 days before the start of the training programme. A 10% administrative fee will be deducted from any reimbursement issued.
