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Format: Online, asynchronous modules that can be completed at your own pace. Credential: Certificate in Leading Large-Scale Education Interventions in Humanitarian Contexts from the Harvard Graduate School of EducationApproximate Time Investment: 20 hoursCost: $450 USD
Enrollment Deadline: January 19, 11:59 PM, Eastern Time (UTC-5) - Enroll Now
Program Description
Worldwide, millions of children experience disrupted learning due to conflict, disaster, and fragility. For these children, education provides protection, stability, and hope. Yet sustaining and scaling high‑quality learning opportunities in such environments requires more than frontline experience: it demands strategic leadership, systems thinking, and the capacity to drive innovation across complex humanitarian and development architectures.
This certificate program is designed for mid‑ to senior‑level professionals already working in humanitarian and development education. Building on participants’ prior field and policy experience, it deepens advanced skills in strategy, systems strengthening, and adaptive leadership to improve learning outcomes for crisis‑affected children at scale. The program emphasizes critical reflection on current practice, peer learning, and co‑creation of solutions to persistent challenges in education in emergencies (EiE).
This program is structured around six, evidence-informed, practice-oriented themes through which participants will sharpen their capacity to design, govern, and manage complex education responses in crisis and recovery contexts.
Participants will be supported to lead with agility, empathy, and evidence in fast‑changing humanitarian settings. You will interrogate real‑world cases, stress‑test your current strategies, and refine tools and frameworks that you can bring back to your organization—whether an NGO, UN agency, or ministry—to make education responses more inclusive, adaptive, effective, and resilient.
Join a global community of experienced practitioners and leaders who are shaping the future of education in crisis, and advancing the right of every child to learn, even amid conflict and displacement.
This is an online, self-paced program. You'll engage with interactive modules that feature research, case studies, and practical tools. Each module focuses on a specific theme related to enabling education during periods of crisis and recovery. Once the program launches, you can complete the modules on your own schedule. The estimated time commitment is approximately 20 hours. All content and assignments must be completed within three months of the program launch date.
A Certificate in Leading Large-Scale Education Interventions in Humanitarian Contexts from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
To enroll, simply complete the online enrollment form. It collects basic information about your education, professional background, and experience. Once submitted, you'll receive an admissions notification by January 26.
Enrollment Deadline: January 19, 11:59 PM, Eastern Time (UTC-5)
The cost of the program is $450 USD. This single fee covers access to all program materials, resources, and learning experiences.
The program will be available in Spring 2026. Once the program launches, you can complete the modules on your own schedule. The estimated time commitment is approximately 20 hours. All content and assignments must be completed within three months of the program launch date.
This program is designed for experienced professionals working in humanitarian and/or crisis‑affected education, including:
Participants are expected to bring prior professional experience in humanitarian, development, or crisis‑affected education settings, and a desire to deepen their impact at a strategic and systems level.
Lecturer on EducationFaculty Co-Chair, Global, International, and Comparative Education ConcentrationFaculty Co-Chair, International Education and Policy Management (IEPM) Pathway
Robert Jenkins brings over 30 years of experience in international development and humanitarian programming in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Prior to his current appointment at HGSE, he served as the global director of education and adolescent development for UNICEF from 2019 to 2024. He joined UNICEF in 1995 and served as the UNICEF representative, Jordan, from 2014 to 2019, and deputy director, Division of Policy and Strategy in UNICEF Headquarters from 2009 to 2014. From 1995 to 2009, Jenkins served with UNICEF in programme and management positions in Uganda (1995–1997), Bangladesh (1997–2000), Myanmar (2000–2003), India (2003–2006), and Mozambique (2006–2009). Jenkins earned a doctor of education degree from the University of Bath and a master’s degree from the London School of Economics in the United Kingdom.
Enroll by January 19, 2026