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UN Generative AI Professional Certificate (Fall Semester 2025)
Interested in using Generative AI effectively? The UN Generative AI Professional Certificate is tailored for United Nations(UN) staff members who aim to harness the potential of Generative AI in their functions. The course provides a comprehensive understanding of Generative AI, covering its mechanisms and practical applications in text, video, and images. This blended programme offers a unique combination of self-paced modules and instructor-led sessions fully tailored to the UN context.
Generative AI is rapidly reshaping the way we create, communicate, and make decisions—offering unprecedented opportunities, but also raising critical ethical, social, and governance challenges. As the UN works to harness digital technologies for sustainable development and global cooperation, there is a growing need for UN personnel to understand and engage with Generative AI in a responsible, informed, and practical way.
This course is the first comprehensive training initiative within the UN system to cover Generative AI applications across text, visual, and audio modalities, combining hands-on practice with multiple tools and a curriculum fully tailored to the realities of UN work. Participants will explore the potential of these tools to support knowledge work, communication, innovation, and decision-making—while also critically examining their limitations and risks.
The course is grounded in the UN’s evolving normative and policy frameworks, particularly the recommendations of the High-Level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence in its report “Governing AI for Humanity” (2023), which calls for global cooperation to ensure that AI is aligned with human rights, sustainable development, and the public interest. It also draws on the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (2021) about the need for transparency, accountability, data governance, and inclusion.
It aims to equip UN staff with the knowledge and confidence to use Generative AI tools responsibly and strategically—aligned with UN values and mandates.
Upon successful completion of the programme, participants will be able to:
- Explain and apply the core principles of Generative AI, including key concepts such as large language models, neural networks, and ethical considerations related to their use.
- Analyse how Generative AI systems operate, gaining a foundational understanding of the underlying algorithms, training data, and model architectures that power text, image, and audio generation.
- Experiment with a variety of Generative AI tools for creating text, visuals, and audio, evaluating their potential applications and limitations in professional settings.
- Apply Generative AI in hands-on activities tailored to real-world UN scenarios, exploring how these technologies can support analysis, communication, knowledge management, and innovation across different functions.
This course offers a unique blended programme for Generative AI in the UN context. Participants will be guided through a recommended curriculum built by UN AI experts composed of self-paced lessons and instructor-led webinars. Practical case studies and on the job-practice are a key feature of this programme to ensure participants not only gain solid knowledge and skills but also apply them. For detailed information on the course content and methodology, kindly check the SYLLABUS.
The programme includes:
- Five thematic self-paced modules.
- Four live webinars with led instructors
- Final assignment
The instructor-led webinars are conducted on Zoom. The four webinars will take place between 22 September and 17 October, from 14:30 to 16:30 CET.
Participants need a computer (or mobile device), a reliable internet connection and either a headset with a microphone to connect to the audio through a computer, or a telephone. We recommend accessing audio through your computer. No special software is required, but participants must be able to access Zoom. We will send access instructions to registered participants, and we recommend that you download the application and test your setup in advance.
The self-paced components and discussion forum for each week of the course are designed and structured on UNKampus, one of UNSSC's online learning platforms.
The UN Gen AI Professional Certificate requires completion of the following five thematic modules:
- Unlocking the Power of Generative AI
- Mastering Textual Gen-AI, from Q&A to Summarization
- Visual Creativity with Generative AI
- Leveraging Generative AI at the workplace
- Building your own Generative AI service
All UN personnel (professional and general service staff) at headquarters and field locations.
The course fee is $1,500.
