Balsillie Executive Institute - Professional Development Courses | Alumni

The Balsillie Executive Institute (BEI) offers short, certificate-based professional development courses that support career-focused objectives across various specialized areas within international public policy and global governance.

As the executive learning branch of the Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA), the BEI uses the School's institutional partners—the University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University, and the Centre for International Governance and Innovation—as well as its wide network of international partners to deliver its courses, offering a truly unique experience.

BEI's executive courses and masterclasses offer dynamic and engaging delivery led by experts at the forefront of critical and intersectional research. This research-informed approach to practical training ensures that participants are exposed to the latest relevant skill sets in Technology Governance, National Security, Critical Thinking, Systems Thinking, Future Thinking, and more.

Executive Courses

Ranging from 4 days to 2 weeks in duration, these certificate-based courses cater to middle- and senior-level careerists interested in enhancing their skills and remaining abreast of sector-specific multidisciplinary thinking.

Masterclasses

These 3-hour condensed courses cater to careerists of all levels seeking expert knowledge on domain-specific issues. They typically cover key concepts and issues, trends, challenges, and approaches to problem-solving.

Executive Certificate

A professional qualification that equips future public policy, industry, and not-for-profit leaders with the skills to operate and lead in the digital world. The program includes micro-credential pathways in Digital Transformation and Digital Public Policy.

Custom Courses

The BEI also offers bespoke course delivery, which can be tailored to suit specific organizational needs in terms of course content, length, and mode of delivery.

Offers for Waterloo Alumni

UW's alumni network is entitled to a discount of up to 15% on all BEI executive courses and masterclasses. Please register through the Alumni Registration page to access this special offer.

Testimonials

“The most valuable part for me was the opportunity to interact directly with representatives (…). It's one thing to read on paper what the various organizations do, but to get the insider's perspective provides a unique context.”

Participant in the March 2023 offering of the 'The New World of National Security and Intelligence Review' Executive Course

“It's very satisfying listening to various experts and knowing more about the leading issues shaping the present tech and how to stand from the point of view of a policy maker in bringing about the best for the world, the people and the government”

Participant in the February-March 2024 Technology Governance Masterclass Series

“The insights from speakers who lead on many of these files were very valuable and helped to contextualize the decision-making on some ongoing issues.”

Participant in the July 2024 offering of the 'Intelligence and National Security' Executive Course

“The frameworks presented were thought-provoking and I really enjoyed the second half of the day where we worked through the case study”

Participant in the November 9, 2024 bespoke offering of the Evidence-Based Decision Making Executive Course