Each workshop is led by our PhD experts and can be adapted to age group, subject focus, and your school’s curriculum. Workshops are also fully customisable upon request.
This workshop examines the environmental consequences of the Artificial Intelligence boom. We explore how AI infrastructure works and what it costs: the energy demands of large-scale computing, the geopolitics of critical minerals, the water usage of data centres that power tools like ChatGPT, and other environmental questions. We apply this knowledge through hands-on activities that train qualitative, quantitative, and verbal reasoning simultaneously: analysing real emissions and energy datasets, critically interrogating Big Tech’s net-zero pledges, and verbally debating contested policy and ethical questions about AI and the environment. Fundamentally, this workshop asks students to evaluate the trade-offs between technological progress and environmental responsibility.
This workshop explores sanctions as a diplomatic tool. It addresses key questions: who imposes sanctions, what they are intended to achieve, and what consequences do they produce? We consider these questions in the context of Western sanctions against Iran, Venezuela, and Russia in recent decades. Students engage in hands-on exercises to explore these case studies: analysing real trade and economic data, examining populist anti-sanctions rhetoric, simulating press conferences, writing and delivering public speeches, and debating the terms of policy reports. In doing so, they refine their analytical, argumentative, and verbal reasoning skills. At its core, this workshop trains students to consider how economic and political power is wielded in international relations and the moral complexities this raises.
This workshop examines how political leaders make decisions under pressure during major crises. We examine two recent case studies: the 2008 financial crash and the COVID-19 pandemic. We review the political and economic context behind these events and coach students through a series of critical questions: how do government and media communication strategies shape the public’s understanding of crises? Who bears responsibility for their consequences? What do these events reveal about states’ obligations to their citizens? What happens when unelected experts gain substantial influence in crisis situations? Can emergency measures in times of crisis sometimes escalate to government authoritarianism? We approach these questions with reference to major political theorists (Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Thomas Hobbes, Robert Nozick, Max Weber, Hannah Arendt, and others), the contents of policy briefs and political debates, and relevant economic and financial data. Ultimately, students gain a deeper insight into the scope of state power and responsibility.
This workshop examines two recent electoral victories of technocratic politicians against right-wing populist opponents: Mark Carney in Canada (April 2025) and Péter Magyar in Hungary (April 2026). We analyse the geography and demography of voting behaviour in these countries, candidates’ speeches and policy platforms, media coverage of their campaigns, and the economic, social, and political conditions surrounding the elections. We guide students through key questions: what conditions enabled these anti-populist movements to succeed? Do individuals or ideas win elections? What do these victories reveal about the current state of liberal democracy? How did the politics of neighbouring countries shape these election campaigns? Students approach these questions through a series practical activities: designing mock campaign strategies, debating contested policy questions, and practising public speaking in press conference simulations.