The Hertie PolAd certificate cycle 2024/25 is designed for 20 professionals at an early-middle stage of their careers currently working as policy or political advisers and assistants in state administrations, line ministries, parliament or other state/public institutions, or within inter-national organisations. The intensive training will not only deepen their understanding of the role of advisers but enhance the skills they need to undertake core tasks of policymaking, management and mobilisation in times of risk and uncertainty. 

The innovative structure of this advanced certificate course builds around thematic modules, each lasting one day, designed to develop concrete skills needed to address sensitive policy and political issues with curricular content specifically tailored to participants’ needs. The modular structure of the course allows participants to attend hands-on skills-building sessions - such as drafting talking points for a busy state secretary - as well as forward-looking discussions - such as the digital transformation of the public sector and the related impact on civil service culture.

In addition to fostering dialogue between these officials and staff members from various geographic locations, the course fulfils functions at the nexus of capacity building and dialogue facilitation. The programme in its most extensive form lasts 18 days, with several modules (days 15-18 on political campaigning, start-up incubators, countering misinformation and media propaganda) available only for political candidates and their advisers.

What’s the Advanced Certificate about?

This new programme considers a variety of sectoral perspectives reflected in the certificate's modular structure. Renowned Hertie School faculty and experts from the school’s academic and policymaking network provide timely expertise on public sector challenges and build skills to overcome them. The certificate course has two overall objectives:  

• Building and enhancing the capacity of government officials. Modules of this scalable course include: Policymaking, policy impact analysis, scenario-building and forecasting, gender-sensitive policymaking, digital statecraft, risk and crisis management, policy writing and advocating for policy change, strategic and crisis communication, speech writing and delivery, media training as well as negotiation skills. These modules can be offered either in one block or within a period of time. See below the detailed description of modules. 

• Fostering dialogue between government officials and political staff across entities and geographies through joint learning. Dialogue is established in a safe environment that does not focus on issues of contention, but on joint skills equally valued by all participants in their respective professional environments. Experience has shown that initial tensions can be diffused by a collaborative focus on skills. In this way, solid, long-lasting transnational professional and private networks between government officials are formed.