This continuing education course is aimed at anyone working in, or planning to work in, foreign relations and related fields. This includes professionals in the private sector and all areas of public administration, as well as trade associations and NGOs. In the past, participants worked in fields such as public affairs, communication, security, as well as compliance and law.

• The course focuses on the theoretical and practical knowledge needed to operate successfully in an international environment.
• Practical abilities are taught by means of media training, interactive workshops with experts, and networking events.
• Participants understand the effects of digitalization on diplomacy and are able to apply the content of this course to practical situations in their individual professional lives.

The continuing education course takes an in-depth look at the topic of digital transformation and foreign policy: how do governments deal with artificial intelligence, how do states attempt to influence these new developments via digital diplomacy and what ethical challenges do these new technologies entail? The excursion to the Estonian capital Tallinn will provide a look back at how interoperability enablers have been established in the 1990s, including the eID. Visits to innovative private companies and public institutions will show what a digital society looks like and what this means for the foreign policy of a small state that is a member of the EU and NATO.

A review of the WBK Diplomacy in the Digital Age is available here: a Conversation with Siim Sikkut, Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Estonian Government.

The WBK Diplomacy in the Digital Age (6 ECTS) can be extended to a DAS Applied Diplomacy (30 ECTS). Further elements - all of which can also be taken individually - are the following courses:

The continuing education course “Diplomacy in the Digital Age” is characterized by methodological diversity. In addition to their lectures, exercises, practical case studies, e-learning assignments, and simulations, students are encouraged to continually reflect on and interpret current events. The course concludes with a practical exam (presentation).

Part-time course of study:
Friday and Saturday, 8:45 am to 4:45 pm.
Exception: Excursion to Tallinn, Sunday evening to Wednesday noon (4 days, 3 nights).

Languages of instruction are German and English.
Participants are expected to be proficient in both languages (oral & written communication).

• Danny Bürkli, Co-director and co-founder, staatslabor
• Yannick Heiniger, Expert on Tech Diplomacy
• Markus Herrmann Chen, Managing Director bei China Macro Group
• Dr. Ilan Manor, Digital Diplomacy Scholar, Assistant Professor, Ben Gurion University, Israel
• Tobias Naef, Dr. iur., Data Protection Commissioner of the City of Winterthur
• Johan Rochel, Co-Founder and Co-Director Ethix: Lab for Innovation Ethics
• Siim Sikkut, former Government CIO for Estonia

• Nicolas Zahn, Expert on Digital Governance, Co-Author of “Making Sense of Artificial Intelligence: Why Switzerland Should Support a Scientific UN Panel to Assess the Rise of AI”

   

   

Applications will be processed in the order in which they are received.