Innovating with AI is a nine‑week, hands‑on course offered by the Sanford School of Public Policy that helps professionals turn AI anxiety into innovation confidence. Participants bring a real challenge from their work and learn to apply AI tools thoughtfully and responsibly to address it. Through weekly working sessions, demos, and guided reflection, you will design, test, and present tangible progress - turning curiosity about AI into practical, ethical innovation.
About the Program
This Duke online course explores how AI can support innovation, design thinking, and behavioral insights in policy and practice. Each session focuses on a specific AI capability, combining theory, live demo, and guided experimentation. Every design workshop is applied to the participant’s own problem so that learning translates directly into action.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand how AI is reshaping innovation and policy design.
- Learn how to evaluate where AI adds value - and where it doesn’t.
- Develop confidence in using a range of AI tools for creative and analytical tasks.
- Reflect on the ethical, social, and organizational tensions of working with AI.
- Apply AI methods directly to live challenges in their own professional context.
Session Format:
- 9 Live Online Sessions via Zoom (Mondays from 9-11:30am US EST)
- Session Length: 2.5 hours
- Total Contact Hours: 22.5
The tuition rate for this program is $1,500. Applicants who are accepted by August 19th will receive a 25% priority registration pricing. Special alumni and partner pricing is available upon request. For more information, please email us at sanfordexeced@duke.edu.
This program is ideal for policy professionals, innovation practitioners, and organizational leaders who want to explore how AI can augment creative problem-solving and responsible innovation.
Roles that would be a good fit include the following:
- Program and project managers from the public and non-profit sectors
- Researchers from think tanks and academic institutions
- Monitoring, evaluation, and learning specialists
- Communications, public relations, and donor campaign specialists
- Policy advocacy professionals
Program Information
Program Dates:
October 19 - December 14, 2026 (Mondays from 9-11:30am US EST)
Priority Registration Deadline:
August 19, 2026 (for priority pricing)
Registration Deadline:
October 12, 2026
Location:
Online via Zoom
Questions?
Email the Executive Education Team at sanfordexeced@duke.edu.
More Courses:
Interested in similar courses? Check out our Behavioral Design Expert Certification.
Meet the Program Director
Joseph Sherlock is a Lecturer at the School for Government at King’s College London. His PhD is from the London School of Economics, focused on applying behavioral science to strengthen democracy. Driven by a passion for evidence-based and evidence-generating innovation, his work generally centers on leveraging behavioral science to advance democracy and sustainability, as well as the science of behavioral science.
Joseph also serves as a Behavioural Science Fellow in the United Nations Secretary-General’s Office. Previously, he was a Principal Behavioral Scientist at Duke University, where he led a team dedicated to fostering innovation in civic society through behavioral science. He also held the role of Principal Behavioural Researcher at HM Revenue & Customs, contributing to public sector innovation and policy development.