Call for Nominations: Certificate in Advanced Knowledge for SIDS Global Leadership

The Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative (RESI) based at ODI Global, in partnership with the Islands and Small States Institute at the University of Malta, invites applications to its Advanced Knowledge for Small Island Developing State (SIDS) Global Leadership training course and summer school that begins in September 2025.

The application deadline is midnight British Summer Time (BST) on Friday 27th June 2025. 

This novel and innovative programme is jointly delivered by Directors and Affiliates of RESI and academic staff from the University of Malta, with support from experts working at the highest levels of SIDS governance.

For informal enquiries, please contact Matt Bishop at RESI (m.bishop@odi.org) or Stefano Moncada at the University of Malta (stefano.moncada@um.edu.mt)

When does the course take place?

The programme begins in-person in Malta in early September 2025 with a week-long summer school, and continues until early 2026, with graduation due to take place in late February. Please see all key dates below.

What is the course about?

It is designed to help policymakers, diplomats, negotiators and other experts draw on a deeper knowledge base as they pursue the global agendas that matter for SIDS. Likely participants are already highly skilled: they know how to develop policy and engage in diplomacy. This programme provides them with advanced SIDS-specific theoretical and contextual expertise to add real weight to their global leadership and engagement in the international dialogues and processes that affect small islands.

Who is the course for?

It is targeted at two different groups of participants:

1. Mid-career professionals from SIDS, such as diplomats in permanent missions, civil servants in island capitals, policymakers working for regional organisations or negotiators working for global ones like AOSIS.

2. Mid-career professionals from international organisations, donor governments and development partners (and even private sector, civil society, media or academic organisations) who work on relevant SIDS agendas in some way. 

   
   

They have approximately 15 fully-funded places available for the first group, to be assigned via a competitive nomination process, and 10 unfunded places for the second group.

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