Emirates Leadership Initiative
Launched in 2014, the Emirates Leadership Initiative at the Harvard Kennedy School comprises a portfolio of programs designed to facilitate capacity building, leadership development, and policy-oriented scholarly exchange between the Kennedy School, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the broader Arab world.
About the Emirates Leadership Initiative
Co-led by Tarek Masoud, Faculty Chair of the Middle East Initiative, and Anthony Foxx, Director of the Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership, the Emirates Leadership Initiative (ELI) at the Harvard Kennedy School aims to:
• build capacity in the UAE and broader Arab world.
• advance scholarship and identify evidence-based solutions to pressing public policy challenges.
• facilitate the exchange of ideas, expertise, and know-how between Harvard and educational and policy-oriented institutions in the UAE and the region.
Launched in 2014 and made possible by the generous support of the Abu Dhabi Department of Government Enablement, ELI comprises the following program components:
• Graduate Student Fellowship Program
• Research Program
• January Term course
• Custom Executive Education Program
Further information about each of these components can be found below.
Graduate Student Fellowship Program
The ELI Graduate Student Fellowship Program provides opportunities for talented emerging leaders from the UAE and the Arab world to earn master’s degrees at HKS. In addition to receiving a full tuition scholarship, health insurance, and a living stipend, ELI student fellows also participate in a bespoke leadership development co-curricular program. Information about this fellowship, including eligibility criteria, can be found on the Center for Public Leadership website.
Research Program
The ELI Research Program brings distinguished public leaders and junior policy-oriented scholars from the UAE and Arab world to the Kennedy School, catalyzes faculty and student research on key public policy issues, and supports high-profile events that address the most pressing policy challenges facing the UAE and the region.
Through these activities, the Research Program prioritizes policy topics most relevant to the UAE, the Gulf region, and the broader Arab world, such as: optimizing governance, increasing economic dynamism, strengthening human capital, and improving public policy design and delivery.
Learn more about these opportunities on our Research Grants and Fellowships Page.
January Term Field Study Course
This annual experiential course brings Harvard students to the UAE during the January Term to learn about the extraordinary changes underway and to gain a more nuanced understanding of the region’s dynamism and challenges. Led by MEI Faculty Chair Professor Tarek Masoud and MEI Senior Fellow Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, students explore firsthand the rapid economic and social developments taking place through a combination of site visits, lectures by local scholars, and opportunities to engage with policymakers and practitioners.
Custom Executive Education Program
ELI supports an annual custom Executive Education program designed to strengthen human capital and tailored to meet the needs of rising public leaders in the UAE. Information about the Kennedy School’s Executive Education offerings can be found on the HKS Executive Education website.