“No more than 20 years ago I was in your position, and it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life — I truly envy you all for having this opportunity,” said Armando Barucco, Secretary General of the European University Institute (EUI), welcoming the new cohort of the Global Executive Master (EUI GEM) at Palazzo Buontalenti.
From 28 September to 4 October 2025, the Florence School of Transnational Governance (STG) hosted the second cohort of this programme, the only blended and part-time executive master offered at the EUI. With an average of 10 years of professional experience, 18 professionals from 13 countries, from the EU and beyond — including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Guinea, Nigeria, and the United States — participated in an intensive week of academic learning and policy dialogue.
“When we launched the EUI Global Executive Master a few years ago, we did not expect to be able to attract such a talented and diverse group of policy professionals — now totalling 52 people with 30 nationalities, across the public sector, European institutions and international organisations, the private sector and civil society,” remarked Georgios Papaconstantinou, former Minister for Finance of Greece and Academic Director of the programme.
Alongside many others, Mohamed Fofana, Second Secretary at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Guinea to the United Nations Office, Rexhina Kocia, Inspector at the Supervision Department of the Central Bank of Albania, and Antonio Giro, Manager at PwC Middle East, embody the programme’s mission to unite experienced professionals from different fields to address complex global policy challenges and positively impact their careers.
From Laurence Boone, former French Secretary of State for European Affairs, and Marios Kaleas, Governor of the Hellenic Asylum Service, to Simon Hix, Kristin Fabbe, Giancarlo Corsetti, Maria Demertzis, and Bob Traa, all of whom contributed as speakers and instructors, this first residential week combined academic expertise with hands-on policy experience.
“The EUI GEM has always been an ambition because of the world-class experts, practitioners in business and policymaking, who equip participants with a broad set of policy approaches and methodologies, relevant not only in Europe but also in Nigeria, where I work, and at multiple governance levels,” confirms Olubukola Moronkola from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI). “In other words, this programme really helps you address challenges across borders.”
With this new beginning, the EUI GEM community now counts more than 50 policy professionals from around the globe, who will continue to ‘learn while they earn’, designing their own professional development journey with guidance from leading academics and practitioners across the EUI.
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