From the Director: Ash Carter

The Belfer Center exists to advance policy-relevant knowledge at the intersection of science, technology, and international affairs. Helping leaders in business and government make better decisions is vital work. Yet it’s only one half of our distinctive mission. The second pillar is preparing future generations to lead in these important arenas. Indeed, we sometimes say that our most important product is people.

Training tomorrow’s leaders is serious business; it’s also deeply rewarding. The opportunity to mentor service-minded young people is why I returned to campus after serving as Secretary of Defense. I love sharing practical lessons with students. Though they hail from the four corners of the globe, they all share a common commitment to making a better world. Harvard Kennedy School students typically arrive having already honed their skills for several years in the public or private sectors. Their curiosity is exceptional. By semester’s end, I’ve learned more from them than vice versa.

 Because leadership is multi-faceted, our training is, too. Our faculty teach policy expertise in dozens of domains, including budgeting, cybersecurity, national security, and nuclear safeguards. We also teach courses that strengthen personal effectiveness, such as negotiation, communication, and productivity. (We’re still negotiating with the registrar on a course called “Getting S#!t Done.”)

 Two things distinguish this training at the Belfer Center and HKS: engagement with world-class practitioners and the opportunity to apply best practices in the field. 

In recent months, students have benefitted from mentorship sessions with former Cabinet members like Susan Rice, Jim Mattis, and Loretta Lynch, and tech founders such as Allen Blue and Christopher Ahlberg. Wisdom from renowned figures like these only goes so far without real-world application. And that’s what really sets us apart.

Among other activities, students have:

• Traveled to Iowa to help democratic stakeholders safeguard their systems from cyber and misinformation attacks.
• Pitched climate proposals to Arctic leaders in Iceland.
• Spent time on Capitol Hill helping congressional members and staffers deepen their grasp of science and technology.
• Applied for an upcoming January term in the Middle East to learn firsthand about social transformation in the Arab world.
• Documented misinformation campaigns in Taiwan and South Korea.

The Center is pleased to sponsor these and many other research projects that get students out of the classroom and onto the front lines of policy influence. We make these investments not to give students another bullet point on their resumes, but to give them the tools they’ll need to make a difference now and in years to come for a lifetime of impactful public service.