Date: September 2027

Time (EST): 9:00am - 5:00pm 

Format: In-Person and Online 

Tuition: $5,395 (Online) and $6,895 (In-Person)

Application Deadline: TBC

Location: Columbia University and United Nations

Payment Deadline: TBC

Certificate: AI and Decision-Making 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents both significant opportunities and complex challenges for multilateral negotiation and international cooperation, presenting the potential to enhance institutional efficiency, improve analysis of complex issues, support consensus-building, and strengthen evidence-based decision-making, while also raising important ethical, regulatory, and governance concerns. To address these challenges, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) are partnering to deliver an Executive Programme Series on Negotiation and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The series will equip leaders and practitioners with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate the opportunities, risks, and implications of AI in negotiation, diplomacy, and international cooperation.

AI is increasingly shaping how senior leaders and decision-makers navigate complex, uncertain, and time-sensitive decisions. As AI-enabled systems support the synthesis of information, risk assessment, and strategic foresight, leaders are required to understand not only what these tools can offer, but also how to exercise judgment, accountability, and oversight in AI-supported decision environments. The final programme in the series would examine the strategic implications of AI for executive-level decision-making across public and international contexts.

Designed for senior professionals, the third programme in the Columbia SIPA – UNITAR Executive Series on Negotiation and AI will focus on strengthening participants’ capacity to assess when and how AI can add value to decision-making processes, while safeguarding institutional responsibility and credibility. Through high-level discussions and applied reflection, participants would develop the confidence to integrate AI-informed insights into leadership practices, ensuring that technology enhances, rather than substitutes, sound judgment and effective decision-making.

The training programs are designed to build the capacities of a diverse cohort, including diplomats, delegates, international civil servants and policymakers, academics, and professionals working across the public and private sectors.

Please submit your application at the following link.

Designed for senior professionals, the course will focus on strengthening participants’ capacity to assess when and how AI can add value to decision-making processes, while safeguarding institutional responsibility and credibility. Through high-level discussions and applied reflection, participants will develop the confidence to integrate AI-informed insights into leadership practices, ensuring that technology enhances, rather than substitutes, sound judgment and effective decision-making.

Attention will also be given to the strategic implications of agentic and multi-agent systems, digital twinning for advanced situational awareness, synthetic media and provenance tooling, and the longer-term diplomatic consequences of potential developments in quantum computing and post-quantum cryptography.

The program will be delivered over a one-week period and will be jointly designed and delivered by UNITAR and SIPA. The sessions will be delivered in a blended format, utilizing a hybrid mode of instruction to enable participants to join the sessions either in-person or online. The in-person sessions of the program will be held on the campus of Columbia University and at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. This flexible delivery model is intended to maximize global reach and impact.

Instructional methodologies will include a range of interactive lectures, case studies, negotiation simulations, scenario analyses, the application of AI and data science tools, group exercises, stakeholder discussions, high-level roundtables, and site visits. In addition, participants will have the opportunity to learn from some of the world’s leading experts in Negotiation and AI.

• AI and Data Science Techniques to Enhance Executive Decision Making, Risk Assessment, Strategic Planning, and Operational Efficiency;
• Development of Effective Data Representations to Build Accurate and Reliable LLMs.
• Tech modules split into two subgroups: ML over large datasets (used for crisis forecasting, prevention) and LLMs (day-to-day research and drafting work) and including their governance and procurement profiles;
• Forward-looking module on agentic and multi-agent systems, digital twinning for advanced situational awareness, synthetic media and provenance tooling, and the diplomatic implications of quantum computing and post-quantum cryptography.
• Leveraging LLMs for Strategic Decision Making;
• AI in Diplomatic Decision Making;
• AI Driven Foresight and Future Analysis.

• Assess when and how AI adds value to complex, uncertain, and time-sensitive decisions, while safeguarding institutional responsibility, credibility, and sound judgment.
• Apply AI and data science tools to enhance executive decision-making, risk assessment, strategic planning, and crisis forecasting in international and diplomatic contexts.
• Distinguish between machine learning tools for crisis forecasting and large language models for research and drafting, and evaluate their respective governance, procurement, and operational implications for senior decision-makers. 
• Anticipate the strategic and diplomatic implications of emerging technologies, including agentic systems, digital twins, synthetic media, and quantum computing and post-quantum cryptography.
• Exercise informed oversight of AI-supported decision environments, maintaining accountability, ethical judgment, and institutional credibility in contexts where AI and human agency intersect.

Participants in the Executive Education Programme Series on AI and Negotiation will gain access to a range of professional, academic, and networking benefits designed to support their leadership development and career advancement in an increasingly AI-enabled global environment.

• Joint Columbia SIPA–UNITAR Certificate: Earn a Joint Certificate from SIPA and UNITAR--two of the world’s leading institutions in multilateral diplomacy, public policy, and international affairs--upon the successful completion of each programme. Participants who complete all three programmes would additionally receive an overarching certificate or the full series.
• Access to World-Class Faculty and Practitioners: Learn from leading academics, policy experts, diplomats, negotiators, and practitioners from Columbia SIPA, UNITAR, and the broader international community who are shaping the future of AI governance and multilateral cooperation.
• Membership in a Growing Community of Practice: Become part of a global network of professionals, diplomats, government officials, international civil servants, and regulators focused on AI, governance, negotiation, and decision-making, creating valuable professional connections that can support future collaboration, policy dialogue, and professional opportunities.
• Peer Learning and Cross-Sector Exchange: Expand perspectives through engagement with participants working at the forefront of AI policy, diplomacy, and governance from different sectors and regions and gain practical insights into how AI challenges and opportunities are being addressed across different national and institutional contexts.
• Practical Skills and Applied Learning: Acquire hands-on experience with AI-enabled tools and policy frameworks as well as immediately applicable skills through case study analysis, negotiation simulations, real-word policy exercises, forecasting tools, and scenario planning.
• Enhanced Professional Credentials: Enhance your expertise and competencies in AI, negotiation, governance, and decision-making and gain insights into emerging international norms, regulatory developments, governance frameworks, and geopolitical dynamics that are shaping the future of artificial intelligence worldwide.
• Alumni Engagement Opportunities: Receive invitations to select thought leadership events, policy forums, and networking opportunities organized by Columbia SIPA and UNITAR, to remain engaged with evolving developments in AI and international affairs.
• Exposure to Global Centers of Diplomacy: Gain Exposure to the global centers of diplomacy in New York City and Geneva.

For further information, please contact Ms. Anouk Reilly (anouk.reilly@unitar.org) and Mr. Konstantinos Stravoravdis (konstantinos.stravoravdis@unitar.org).