Innovation & AI as a Force for Good – a certificate program for senior management
The concept: Innovation and AI – new strategies, new skills
The SDGs are unlikely to be met by 2030 without rapid, all-encompassing innovation relying on the opportunities of digitalization and culture change. But digitalization also presents threats to international organizations’ values, legitimacy, and responsibility. Confronting these opportunities and challenging and devising new strategies for how to navigate a digital world, as well as how to empower people with new skills is a priority for all organizations today. Support and guidance from the leadership is crucial for successful development towards new strategies and new skills in a digital world.
Innovating in a digital world is increasingly important. The way that services are delivered, that humans interact, and that connections are created are now fully entrenched in technology. New strategies for how to prioritize activities and streams of work and new skills for how to implement these, will be required on three levels to manage this change effectively.
At the individual level, confidence is required to try out new tools and the skills to understand when these tools can be used and how to achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness. At the team leadership level, managers are poised to lead their groups through change. A deep understanding of what ‘digital thinking’ means for their area of work will motivate and engage teams, boost their collaboration for remote management and distributed work scenarios and create of new KPIs. At the senior leadership level, new strategies to focus activities, leverage capabilities and make investments in digital technology will arise from a clear understanding of the organization gaps and possibilities.
Program Objectives: New Skills for a New World
This training focuses on the team leadership level while also equipping team leaders as individuals with innovation and digital technology tools and allowing them to design and implement strategic priorities in a digital work.
While digital transformation presents many opportunities, operationalizing digital transformation strategies bears risks and requires correctly assessing the specific opportunities for the organization and division. The training integrates the senior leadership level through preparatory conversations and follow-up workshops to elevate gap analysis and possibilities.
The objective of this training is two-fold. First, on the content-level, it seeks to engage senior leaders (those managing teams) in innovation and digital transformation work and provide them with processes and tools to lead teams through change. Second, on the interpersonal level, it continues to build a movement of collaborators from across organizations with the aim of enabling the environment for innovation and transformation.
Modules: blended learning
The training consists of 5 online session of 2 hours each, plus one full day in-person learning. The modules are created to equip senior leaders with new skills and provide new strategic perspectives for innovation and AI.
Module 1: Introduction: Innovating and AI as a Force for Good
Latest research insights conducted at the University of Geneva on Innovation in the United Nations organizations and International NGOs. Understanding and applying best practices across organizations and developing applicable pathways for how to manage innovation and AI.
Module 2: Innovating in a Bureaucracy: Agile and Strategic Foresight
Demystifying key managerial topics such as Agile Teams and Strategic Foresight to prioritize and facilitate greater agility and adaptability to spur innovation in teams; understanding the risk of Agile teams with the bureaucratic context of the UN and INGOs; the role of Futures and Foresights.
Module 3 & 4: Mastering Digital Tools and Best Practices for Innovating in a AI enabled world
Using digital technology to manage distributed work while empowering and motivating team members and people for innovation; applying innovation tools and practices in a digital world and understanding the principles and strategies of digital tools to support leaders (such as automated data visualizations, ChatGPT, and machine-driven decision making); uncovering both the strengths and weaknesses in applying these tools in your work.
Module 5: Wellbeing for Managers looking to break Boundaries through Innovation and Lead in Times of Change
Learning inner wellbeing practices that cultivate resilience to change and reduce fear towards new technologies.
Module 6 (in-person): Human Centered Design for Innovating in a Digital World
Applying the HCD innovation methodology to your own digital transformation projects. These hands-on workshops allow both learning the principles of human centered design as well as using the methodology in (cross-functional) teams to ideate, develop, design, iterate and pitch their own project ideas.
Target group: Senior leaders across your organization.
Format: Blended learning: 5 virtual sessions of 2 hours each + 1 full day in-person learning with small event.
Price: CHF 45’000 for up to 20 senior leaders. If the program is delivered multiple times to the same organization, a discount can be offered.
Please contact us if you are interest to organize this training for the leaders in your organization.
