The “Future Leaders Academy” is a programme hosted at the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga (SSE Riga), organized in cooperation with the Embassy of Sweden in Latvia and the Swedish Institute.

Dates for the five modules of the Future Leaders Academy 2026 will be:

• October 16 – 18,
• October 30 – November 1,
• November 6 – 8,
• November 20 – 22,
• December 4 – 6.

The application for the Future Leaders Academy 2026 is available here.
The application deadline is August 17, 2026.

Applicants will be notified of the selection committee's decision in late August / early September.

Purpose and Aim

The programme aims to educate, inspire, and develop the leadership potential of Latvia's future political and community leaders. We seek applicants with a strong interest and demonstrated commitment to the future development of Latvia in any field.

By bringing together talented young leaders from all over Latvia, representing different regions and backgrounds, allowing them to meet and develop ideas amongst themselves, and further introducing them to existing Latvian experts and politicians, the aim is to help them grow their contact networks for future success.

The programme's working language is Latvian, with some modules in English.

Participants and Selection

Candidates must submit an electronic application on the SSE Riga website, including their CV and a short 2-minute motivation video (in Latvian or English). They must be available for all programme dates.

Twenty participants for the programme are selected each year. Programme participants range in age from 20-27. For each class of the Future Leaders Academy, the selection committee strives for diversity in terms of gender, ethnicity, and regional background.

Format and Lecturers

The programme is held over five weekends: Friday evenings from 17:30 to 21:00, Saturday from 10:00 to 17:00, and Sunday from 10:00 to 15:00.

Last year, notable guests of the Academy were the former Prime Minister of Latvia Krišjānis Kariņš, the former President of Latvia H.E. Valdis Zatlers, Foreign Minister Baiba Braže, former Defense Minister Andris Sprūds, former Justice Minister Inese Lībiņa-Egnere, Swedish Ambassador to Latvia Daniel Olsson, President of the Constitutional Court Irēna Kucina, Governor of the Central Bank of Latvia Mārtiņš Kazāks, industry leaders from SEB Banka Kārlis Danēvičs, Swedbank Līva Zorgenfreija, ERDA Zane Čulkstēna, IKEA Pēteris Grinbergs, and many many others!

Training modules on public speaking, critical thinking, argumentation, and presentation skills are part of the Academy’s yearly programme.

During the five weekends of the programme, FLA participants develop and pitch a team project idea to a jury comprised of distinguished Latvian decision-makers.

Participant Feedback 2025

Participants would recommend to others (out of 10) – 9.6