24 fellows from 19 institutions across 13 countries and regions begin a six-month program in AI-era leadership and talent insight
Danielle Solar,
Executive Director
Future Talent Council
October 19, 2026. The Future Talent Council (FTC) has welcomed the September 2026 cohort of its Global Student Fellowship, bringing together 24 high-performing students from 19 institutions across 13 countries and regions on six continents. The cohort began onboarding on October 13.
The six-month Fellowship asks students to collaborate across disciplines, cultures, and time zones while developing future-ready judgment and contributing their generation’s perspective to the global conversation on work, talent, and leadership. Fellows study business, finance, law, medicine, computer science, engineering, data science, and the social sciences, among other fields.
This cohort introduces several new elements:
- Scenario Studios. Facilitated sessions in strategic foresight, in which Fellows explore multiple possible futures rather than defend a single answer.
- Senior Fellows. Returning Fellows from the January 2026 cohort mentor the teams.
- Global Capstone Presentation. A live virtual showcase of each team’s findings, utilizing Lovable, for academic deans and employer partners in the FTC network.
Throughout the program, Fellows will take part in expert-led masterclasses and Critical AI Engagement exercises designed to build independent thinking before turning to AI. Working in international teams of four, they will co-author a Future Talent Insight Brief grounded in global labor-market data and interviews with senior leaders. Fellows who complete the program receive an FTC Global Fellow Certificate and a digital credential.
The cohort includes students from the FTC’s partner institutions, among them Alamo Colleges District and Brunel University of London, which join as Partner Institutions for September.
“When enough people look at a situation and think ‘we can do better,’ we stop imagining a better future and start building it. This cohort is that idea in practice: students working across borders to define what makes us more human in a world that is increasingly not.”
Daniel Kjellsson, Director-General, Future Talent Council
Fellows will conclude the program in March 2027. Those who attend the annual Future Talent Summit at the Grand Hôtel in Stockholm on June 22–23, 2027 will present their research posters to business, university, and government leaders. The January 2026 cohort’s seven Insight Briefs are published on the Emerging Leader Initiatives page.
Applications for the January 2027 cohort open in early November 2026 and close January 15, 2027.
About the Future Talent Council
The Future Talent Council is a non-commercial, peer-to-peer global community of leaders from business, education, and government working to improve human capability and opportunity.
Media contact: Danielle Solar, Executive Director, Emerging Leader Initiatives · danielle.solar@futuretalentcouncil.com
For more information about the Future Talent Council, the Stockholm Summit, and its Emerging Leader Initiatives, visit our page.