Events & Opportunities

We are delighted to announce the launch of the Global Institute Fellowship for Transforming Systems (GIFTS), in partnership with the Enlight Foundation. The fellowship will bring together a cohort of 20 outstanding and influential education systems leaders worldwide for a nine-month immersive and action-driven program of global learning. The fellowship is designed to connect, inspire and develop the next generation of education system leaders who are striving to turn visionary ideas about holistic education, youth leadership and equity into equitable, lasting transformation for children at scale.

We are actively recruiting our first cohort of fellows, with applications closing on Friday 4 September 2026 and invite applications from currently serving policymakers, government officials, politicians and advisors in influential roles in ministries, regional offices and delivery units, with influence over the learning and development of significant numbers of young people at a regional or national level. Fellows will be visionary, future-facing leaders who are committed to a holistic purpose of education for all children and excited about global learning and community.

The GIFTS fellowship is the flagship initiative of the Global Institute for Shaping a Better Future, which exists to inspire, inform and connect a global movement of teachers, school leaders, social innovators, researchers and policymakers through global learning, sharing and evidence-generation around the question of how we can grow all students holistically so they can shape a better future.

The fellowship aims to centre that question in a nine-month cohort-based learning experience for some of the world’s most dynamic and enterprising education system leaders, with the aim of:

1. Creating a challenging, supportive and fast-paced culture of learning among fellows around their most pressing questions and current challenges of practice.
2. Strengthening the ability of fellows to drive transformative systems change at a national or local level by providing access to world class learning experiences and world-renowned leaders.
3. Building a lifelong peer community of fellows, each of whom is working at the forefront of efforts to transform education in the national or regional context.
4. Generating new knowledge and insight to be shared with a wider global community of governments and multilaterals about the most effective drivers of system transformation.

Before applying, please carefully read the fellowship description here. This will help you to understand the fellowship design and content in more detail, the commitment we require of all fellows, and the criteria that will be used to select applicants for the fellowship.

Then, before completing this application form, please read the GIFTS application guidance. This gives an overview of the main tasks in the application form, the supporting materials you are required to submit, and the criteria that the selection committee will be using to select fellows.

Once you have reviewed the guidance and prepared the supporting materials, please apply using this form.