Can early-career leaders build adaptability as a core skill to add value to organizations from Day One?

Program Overview

The Adaptive Global Fellowship is a 26-week program for high-achieving early-career leaders that develops adaptability as a core skill, preparing Fellows to add value to organizations from Day One, particularly in work related to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and underserved communities.

Adaptive Fellows are kind, curious, collaborative leaders who lean into change instead of resisting it. They treat uncertainty as a chance to learn, adjust quickly when plans break, ask "How can I help?" even when the situation is unclear, and look for market opportunities in emerging problems and shifting conditions.

The Adaptive Foundation Fellowship taps into a strong academic network built through alumni connections at leading universities worldwide, bringing in outstanding professors, researchers, and practitioners from UC Berkeley, Harvard Business School, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Stanford University, Carnegie Mellon University, IMD Business School, Wharton School, Cornell University, MIT, and Yale University.

The fellowship prioritizes action over theory. Fellows do not just study global challenges; they architect implementation-ready, board-room ready solutions through real-world sourcing, strategic simulations, and a public-facing Knowledge Commons of Learning Exemplars.

The Fellowship is fully sponsored or scholarship-supported for selected Fellows. All fellows are selected purely on merit; funding support, where needed, is arranged after selection.

Eligibility + FAQs

Judging Criteria

• Clarity & self-awareness: We care more about your clarity, self-awareness, and values than about "perfect" answers.
• Ability to commit: Able to commit 3 hours per week (Mon, Wed, Fri, 12:00-1:00pm ET) for 26 weeks, plus one half-day weekend session each month.