AI Ethics & Governance
Summer School 2026
Selected as the host city for its unique position at the intersection of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, Istanbul offers a living context for discussions on global governance, development, and geopolitical complexity. As a historic hub of exchange and a contemporary center for regional policy and innovation, the city reinforces the program's comparative and global perspective.
A Program for Future Leaders
The AI Ethics and Governance Summer School is a five-day immersive program hosted annually in one of AEGIX's global partner cities. Following two successful editions held in Brussels in 2024 and 2025, the program welcomes its third cohort to Istanbul, Türkiye.
Designed for a diverse cohort of future leaders, the program builds policy fluency at the intersection of artificial intelligence, ethics, and governance. Graduates join the AEGIX Emerging Scholars Network and receive ongoing professional and career support.
Target Audience
Graduate students and mid-career professionals seeking to advance their expertise in AI policy, ethics, and governance across diverse global contexts.
Aims of the Programme
The AI Ethics and Governance Summer School provides graduate students and mid-career professionals with analytical frameworks and practical tools to manage artificial intelligence amid rapid change, uncertainty, and fragmented regulation.
The program approaches AI as a global sociotechnical system shaped by power, political economy, institutional design, and societal values. It does so through a comparative and interdisciplinary lens, through which participants examine how ethical risks, governance challenges, and regulatory responses vary across sectors, regions, and levels of authority.
Participants analyze how different governance models respond to shared challenges, including algorithmic bias, surveillance, labor disruption, environmental impacts, and the growing role of AI in global development. The program's interdisciplinary and globally oriented approach prepares participants to operate effectively at the intersection of policy, technology, and ethics as AI becomes increasingly embedded in global decision-making.
What to Expect
Expert-Led Sessions
In-depth lectures and discussions led by leading scholars, policymakers, and practitioners from academia, government, and industry.
Professional Networking
Structured and informal opportunities to connect with peers, faculty, and institutional partners, fostering collaboration and long-term engagement.
Institutional and Cultural Engagement
On-site engagement with UNDP's Digital, AI and Innovation Hub, complemented by curated cultural programming to contextualize learning.
Applied Case Analysis
Guided examination of real-world AI governance challenges through case studies and scenario-based discussion.
Learning Objectives
By the end of the program, participants will be able to:
Identify and address ethical challenges such as bias, discrimination, transparency, accountability, and human rights impacts across public- and private-sector AI systems.
Analyze how AI affects global power relations, trade, labor markets, development pathways, and inequality, with particular attention to Global South contexts and capacity constraints.
Critically engage with the governance of AI in security-sensitive contexts, including surveillance, dual-use technologies, and emerging autonomous and decision-support systems.
Develop a nuanced understanding of national, regional, and global approaches to AI governance, including regulatory frameworks, standards, and institutional mechanisms shaping responsible AI deployment.
Examine evolving global standards, private and participatory governance models, and the role of international and multilateral institutions in shaping future AI governance under conditions of uncertainty and regulatory fragmentation.
Assess near- and long-term risks associated with advanced and frontier AI systems, including high-impact and uncertain trajectories, while critically examining how AI can be directed toward development, sustainability, and social good.
Skills Acquired
Participants will develop practical competencies essential for navigating the complex landscape of AI governance:
Ability to critically analyze AI governance challenges across ethical, legal, political, economic, and societal dimensions, integrating multiple perspectives and levels of analysis.
Capacity to identify and assess ethical risks such as bias, discrimination, opacity, and human rights impacts, and to apply ethical principles to real-world AI deployment and governance decisions.
Practical understanding of how contemporary and frontier AI systems are developed, deployed, and governed, enabling participants to engage confidently with technical concepts in policy, regulatory, and institutional settings.
Skills to evaluate, compare, and interpret national, regional, and global AI governance frameworks, including their implications for innovation, accountability, and cross-border coordination.
Ability to design context-sensitive governance responses to complex AI challenges, particularly in emerging economies, public-sector deployment, and high-impact or high-uncertainty domains.
Capacity to navigate uncertainty by integrating futures thinking, scenario analysis, and global awareness, enabling adaptive responses to rapidly evolving AI technologies and governance environments.
Participants are responsible for arranging their own visas, travel, and accommodation. AEGIX can provide official invitation and support letters to assist with visa applications and related administrative requirements.