The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) has launched a new course to equip senior leaders to build practical, organisation-wide approaches to AI governance.
AI is being adopted across businesses at unprecedented speed. As organisations integrate AI across functions, responsibility for decisions about its use is increasingly falling to leaders outside of technical teams. However, many organisations are still developing the capabilities needed to govern AI effectively, leaving professionals accountable for decisions they have never been asked to make before.
To help address this challenge, CISL has launched the AI Governance Strategy Intensive, a two-and-a-half-week online course in which senior leaders build a playbook for their own organisation. The programme will help participants develop practical approaches to deciding on the use of AI and governing it in ways that support innovation while considering wider societal implications. This will allow them to balance business performance with long-term resilience and competitiveness.
Lindsay Hooper, CEO, Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership says:
“AI is becoming a foundational force in the future economy, with consequences for productivity, public trust, labour markets, access to knowledge and the distribution of economic opportunity. CISL has spent more than three decades helping leaders shape the economic and societal conditions necessary for long-term prosperity. The AI Governance Strategy Intensive brings that experience to the urgent task of governing AI in ways that strengthen institutions, support responsible innovation and build the resilience future societies and economies will need.”
Gina Neff, Executive Director of the Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy at the University of Cambridge, says:
“AI governance is no longer a niche technical issue, it is a leadership challenge. Organisations need the capability to ask the right questions about how AI is being used, who it affects, and what safeguards are needed. This course is designed to help leaders move beyond abstract principles and build practical governance approaches for their businesses."
Thomas Lingard, Course convenor and CEO of the Centre for Future Generations says:
“AI is rapidly changing the conditions within which organisations compete and perform. Its long-term impact will depend on the governance, institutional capability and human judgement that shape whether and how it is adopted. This programme is designed to help leaders move from broad principles to practical governance, so that institutional decisions serve their strategy, their stakeholders and the wider systems on which long-term prosperity depends”.
The programme is intended for senior executives responsible for how AI is adopted and governed in their organisations. It is an applied programme focused on organisational capability. The course combines live learning, AI-guided personalised support and practical exercises to help participants develop governance approaches that can evolve alongside rapidly changing technologies and regulatory environments.
The CISL AI Governance Strategy Intensive course starts on October 20th 2026. Please click on here for more information.