As the 2023 implementation progress review of the 2030 United Nations (UN)Sustainable Development Strategy Framework has shown, decisive action is needed if the Sustainable Development Goals are still to be achieved. To accelerate positive change in the social dimension of sustainable development, the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization (ITCILO) and the Turin School of Development (TSD) have joined forces to provide a safe space for experimentation with innovative capacity development solutions that harness technology for learnin innovation. As part of this collaboration, ITCILO and TSD offer this executive certificate training course on the nexus between technology and social justice, taking a humancentred approach to harness emerging technologies for learning innovation in international development cooperation projects. As the ongoing debate on the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the future of learning shows, decision-makers in development cooperation projects are often unprepared to act fast when technological breakthroughs with an impact on the future of learning occur. This executive training course is meant to address this blind spot, providing a dialogue forum for international development cooperation practitioners to ‘think slow’ about emerging technologies today and act fast when a tipping point is reached.

Emerging Technology refers to innovative technologies that are in the early stages of development or adoption and have the potential to create significant changes in industries, economies, or societies. These technologies are often experimental, rapidly evolving, and not yet widely implemented or standardized.

Characteristics of emerging technologies are:

• Novelty: Represent new or significantly improved methods, systems, or applications
• Rapid Growth: Show accelerating development and interest from researchers, investors, and industries
• Uncertainty: Outcomes, applications, and impacts are often unpredictable
• Disruptive Potential: Can challenge existing systems, industries, or norms
• Interdisciplinary Impact: Often influence multiple sectors or fields simultaneously.

The following emerging technologies will be analysed regards their learning innovation potential:

• Neurotechnology
• Quantum technology
• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
• Extended Reality technology

These emerging technologies have been prioritized based on their potential severity of impact on the future of learning, in both positive and negative ways. For example, neurotechnology has been prioritized as it could boost cognitive performance and facilitate the inclusion of learners with disabilities but likewise deepen existing digital divide and throw up question on privacy rights.

The overall objective of the executive training course is to contribute towards accelerated positive change in social dimensions of sustainable development. The immediate objective is to strengthen the capacity of professionals tasked with the design and delivery of development cooperation projects to harness emerging technology for the purposes of learning innovation.

The training course has three stages:

1. A two-week (part-time) online learning stage in early April 2025 during which participants will be inducted to taxonomies of emerging technology frameworks, and strategies for leveraging technology for learning purposes in the context of multi-bilateral development cooperation projects. Participants will also jointly revisit the external forces reshaping the global development cooperation industry to determine how best to leverage emerging technologies for better scale and impact of their learning activities in an increasingly resource-scarce environment.
2. A four-day face-to-face training course in mid-April 2025 in Turin for a deep dive into selected emerging technologies; the training sessions are co-facilitated by international capacity development experts from ITCILO and other UN agencies. Participants will experiment with selected technologies and have opportunity to visit technology companies in the wider Turin innovation eco-system.
3. Follow-up online coaching support to co-create a development cooperation project proposal that harnesses emerging technology for learning purposes.

The overall outcome of the training course is a deeper understanding of the wider ramifications of rapid technological change for the design and delivery of multi-bilateral development cooperation projects with a strong focus on functional and technical skills transfer. The immediate outcome is strengthened capacity of development cooperation practitioners to harness digital technology in the service of scaling outreach and impact of learning interventions at the project level. The tangible takeaway of the activity is a proposal for a draft development cooperation project that harnesses emerging technologies for learning innovation.

Upon completion of their project outline, participants will receive an executive certificate of achievement jointly issued by ITCILO and TSD.