Programmes / Leadership & Global Affairs

Programme · Leadership & Global Affairs

Advance Leadership Programme

Students draft and sign a Student Leadership Council charter, defended before a school leadership panel. Parallel Grades 6-8 and 9-12 cohorts. Run under the Onward Fellowship brand in partnership with HPAIR. Through interactive breakouts, Socratic debate and role-plays, students move through an identity → governance → charter arc, ending by drafting and digitally signing a Student Leadership Council charter and presenting it to a school leadership panel. Grades 6-8 and 9-12 run as independent parallel cohorts.

Apply for November →

Next cohort starts Sat, 14 Nov 2026 · early-bird USD 499

Cohorts of Small live cohort

Length3 weekends · 6 live sessions
Cohort sizeSmall live cohort
EligibilityGrades 6–12 (11–17)
Live sessionsSat & Sun, 5:00 PM–6:30 PM GMT+4 (Sat & Sun, 9:00–10:30 AM ET) · live on Zoom

What your child will actually do

Live, mentor-led sessions - worked problems and real output, not lectures.

1
Learn leadership & global affairs the applied way

Students draft and sign a Student Leadership Council charter, defended before a school leadership panel. Parallel Grades 6-8 and 9-12 cohorts. Every session is live and mentor-led, with discussion instead of lecture.

2
Work on something real each week

Across 3 weekends · 6 live sessions, students produce work rather than notes - cases, drafts, builds or analyses depending on the programme.

3
Get individual mentor feedback

Cohorts are kept small so mentors know each student by name and push them at the right level.

4
Finish with something to show

A final project or presentation your child can put in front of a university, a school or you.

Skills your child will gain

Named, practised skills - grouped the way universities read them, tied to how each is used in this programme.

Thinking & analysis

How your child breaks a problem down before touching it.

  • Note-taking and synthesis

    Practised on live problems in every session - never taught as theory.

  • Basic field vocabulary

    Mentors make your child justify each step out loud before moving on.

Communication

Writing and speaking so an adult expert takes them seriously.

  • Stakeholder writing

    Rehearsed in front of a mentor and peers, then corrected on the spot.

  • Speaking up in a live room

    Written up each week and marked the way a specialist reader would mark it.

Working with people

Deadlines, teams, feedback - the habits universities and employers notice.

  • Project management

    Built through real deadlines and written mentor feedback.

  • Team facilitation

    Practised in small-team work with students your child has never met.

  • Team work with strangers

    Held to a professional standard - the brief, the deadline, the follow-up.

Projects they finish with

Sample briefs from recent cohorts - the actual work that comes out of the programme, not a syllabus.

Project 1

Applied leadership & global affairs problem set

Can your child use leadership & global affairs thinking on a problem they have never seen?

What they hand inWorked problems and short write-ups reviewed by the mentor each session.

Early sessions
Project 2

The main project

What is worth building in leadership & global affairs in 3 weekends · 6 live sessions?

What they hand inA finished programme project - the piece that goes into the portfolio.

Middle of the programme
Project 3

Final presentation

Can they explain the work to someone who was not there?

What they hand inA live presentation plus mentor feedback in writing.

Final session
A short project or presentation to close the programme

Impact on other people, documented - the difference between a title and leadership. By the end of Advance Leadership Programme, the aim is simple: a led initiative with numbers attached and letters from those involved.

What you end up holding
  • Certificate of completion
  • A small project or presentation
  • A clear yes or no on the interest

What they'll take away

Certificate of CompletionProject or portfolio artefactLive mentor feedbackParent progress updates

How this strengthens their university profile

The point isn't the certificate. It's the line a family can honestly write afterwards - and the artefact sitting behind it.

Before

"My child is interested in leadership & global affairs."

Nothing an admissions officer can check.

After Advance Leadership Programme

"My child completed Advance Leadership Programme and finished a short project or presentation to close the programme."

A line with an artefact behind it.

Why this programme counts

Exploration, cheaply and quickly. Short live programmes let a child test a field over a couple of weekends before committing months to it - and they are the natural first step in Grades 5–8.

Impact on other people, documented - the difference between a title and leadership.

What a university can verify
  • Certificate of completion
  • A small project or presentation
  • A clear yes or no on the interest
  • Certificate of completion
  • A small project or presentation

Upcoming cohorts

Sat, 14 Nov 20263 weekends · 6 live sessions · Grades 612Cohort 1
Sat & Sun, 5:00 PM–6:30 PM GMT+4(Sat & Sun, 9:00–10:30 AM ET)
USD 499USD 699early birdApply for this cohort
Sat, 20 Feb 20273 weekends · 6 live sessions · Grades 612Cohort 2
Sat & Sun, 5:00 PM–6:30 PM GMT+4(Sat & Sun, 9:00–10:30 AM ET)
USD 499USD 699early birdApply for this cohort

Session times shown in Dubai time (GMT+4) with US Eastern alongside. Fees are correct at time of publishing - confirm on the programme page.

Live mentors, every single session

Advance Leadership Programme is taught live by mentors from leading universities and partner organisations - never pre-recorded. Small cohorts mean your child is spoken to by name, not counted in an audience.

Parents usually ask

Is my child the right age for this?

It is designed for Grades 6–12. No prior background is assumed - mentors calibrate to the cohort in the first session.

How much time does it take?

3 weekends · 6 live sessions in total, with live sessions sat & sun, 9:00–10:30 am et plus light preparation in between. It is built to sit alongside school.

What if we miss a session?

Tell the team in advance and they will share the materials and arrange a catch-up so your child rejoins without falling behind.

How do we pay and confirm a place?

Places are confirmed on the Advance Leadership Programme application page. Fees shown here are correct at time of publishing - always confirm on the programme page before paying.

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