Executive
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Lead transformation when technology is moving faster than organisations.

Two executive programmes designed for senior professionals turning AI, innovation and organisational change into practical organisational advantage.

Equity Reimagined, Leadership in the Digital Era17 November 2026 · 7 weeks · live online + in person at Cambridge Accelerated Digital Innovation24 November 2026 · 6 weeks · live online + in person at Cambridge

Early booking: 15% discount when you book by 20 October 2026.

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Next cohorts
Equity Reimagined, Leadership in the Digital Era17 November 2026Accelerated Digital Innovation24 November 2026
Duration
Equity Reimagined, Leadership in the Digital Era7 weeksAccelerated Digital Innovation6 weeks
Learning format
Every session is live online, with the final session in person at Cambridge
In person at Cambridge
Final session at Homerton College, CambridgeDates TBC
Weekly commitment
Equity Reimagined, Leadership in the Digital Era5 hours a weekAccelerated Digital Innovation6 hours a week
Certificate
Certificate of ParticipationFrom Homerton College, University of Cambridge
Programme fee
Equity Reimagined, Leadership in the Digital Era£3,000 per participantAccelerated Digital Innovation£4,300 per participant15% discount when you book by 20 October 2026
Booking several people?
Discounts are available when you book multiple people on our programmesTell us how many · invoices available
Why now

Adoption is near-universal. Advantage is not.

Most organisations now use AI. Very few are turning it into measurable value, and the skills their people need are changing fast. That gap is a leadership problem.

9 in 10
organisations report regular use of AI in at least one business functionMcKinsey, The state of AI in 2026
6%
are AI high performers, attributing 5% or more of EBIT to AIMcKinsey, The state of AI in 2026
1%
of leaders describe their companies as “mature” in deploying AIMcKinsey, Superagency in the workplace, 2025
39%
of workers’ core skills are expected to change by 2030World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Report 2025

Accelerated Digital Innovation closes the gap between AI use and organisational value. Equity Reimagined, Leadership in the Digital Era prepares people, performance and trust for the change.

Find your programme

Which leadership challenge are you solving?

Both programmes address AI-enabled change. One starts from technology and innovation, the other from people, performance and trust. Start with the problem in front of you.

Accelerated Digital Innovation

When the challenge is making AI and innovation work at scale

Use when your challenge is:

  • Turning AI experimentation into implementation
  • Identifying valuable AI opportunities
  • Creating credible business cases
  • Building an innovation roadmap
  • Putting governance around AI
  • Designing an innovation operating model
  • Scaling from pilots to organisational adoption

Turn AI and emerging technology into an implementable roadmap, governed operating model and credible business case.

Explore this programme
Equity Reimagined, Leadership in the Digital Era

When the challenge is leading people through AI-enabled change

Use when your challenge is:

  • Preparing people for AI-enabled transformation
  • Aligning workforce and technology strategy
  • Creating responsible innovation strategies
  • Strengthening organisational performance and trust
  • Moving from representation towards measurable equal opportunity
  • Influencing leadership and boards through complex change

Lead AI-enabled organisational change so people, technology, performance and trust move together.

Explore this programme

Not sure which programme fits?Tell us about your role and the challenge you are facing. The Ascension X team will help you choose.

Talk to the Ascension X team

Programme 01 · Technology and innovation

Accelerated Digital Innovation

Turn AI and emerging technology into an implementable roadmap, governed operating model and credible business case.

Expert insight · Programme faculty Generative AI Professor Per Ola KristenssonProfessor of Interactive Systems Engineering, University of Cambridge
Read the transcript

So I think what is exciting is actually the people’s sentiments of AI. Inclusive innovation is important because we actually lose money by not being inclusive. So it’s not just the right thing to do, it actually enables business opportunities, and AI is an amplifier.

It’s not really meant to replace people, but to amplify people, amplify processes, and amplify organisations. But we have to do it in a very informed, inclusive way, and this requires systematic design methods, and that’s what I’m really passionate about.

Systematic design methods that allow people to do responsible innovation, and they essentially infuse AI within their organisation, and their processes, and enable and amplify everybody to do their best and live a good life.

Transcript from the captions in the video, lightly edited for readability.

01Who it is for

Senior leaders accountable for turning technology investment into organisational advantage.

Accelerated Digital Innovation is designed for leaders responsible for areas such as:

  • Innovation
  • Technology
  • Digital transformation
  • Product
  • Strategy
  • R&D
  • AI implementation
02Problems it addresses
  1. AI experiments that never reach implementation
  2. Uncertainty about where AI creates real value
  3. Business cases that fail to convince decision-makers
  4. No shared roadmap for innovation
  5. Gaps in governance and accountability for AI
  6. Pilots that do not scale across the organisation
03What you will be able to do
  • Evaluate AI and digital opportunities and risks
  • Develop an AI-enabled innovation roadmap
  • Build an appropriate innovation operating model
  • Create credible business cases
  • Establish governance and performance measures
  • Move from experimentation towards organisation-wide implementation
04What you take back

Participants work towards an AI-enabled innovation roadmap, a business case, a governance approach, an innovation operating model, implementation measures and a scaling strategy. See all outputs

05Programme structure

Six weeks of live online sessions, around 6 hours a week alongside your role, finishing in person at Homerton College, Cambridge.

Session 1Leading digital innovationShape strategy, operating models and inclusive teams for complex, multi-stakeholder challenges.
Session 2AI and agentic AI opportunitiesEvaluate applications, constraints, risks and assurance with clarity and commercial purpose.
Session 3AI-enabled prototyping and prioritisationUse AI tools to test concepts, simulate solutions and build evidence-based roadmaps.
Session 4Building the delivery organisationReduce friction and silos, and create collaboration patterns that accelerate execution.
Session 5Scaling impact and commercial valueReinvent products, services and processes, and strengthen business models and partner networks.
Session 6Your innovation blueprintProduce a roadmap, operating model, implementation plan, ROI case, governance and success metrics.
In personFinal workshop at Homerton College, with a formal dinnerApply the programme to a live organisational challenge, stress-test ideas with peers and practitioners, and leave with a personalised implementation plan ready to act on. Date TBC.
06Learning experience

Every session is delivered live online, with applied work on your own organisational challenge and peer learning with senior leaders, finishing in person at Homerton College, Cambridge. How the learning works

07Faculty and speakers
  • Portrait of Professor Per Ola KristenssonProfessor Per Ola KristenssonProfessor in Interactive Systems Engineering, University of Cambridge
  • Portrait of Dr Alison WoodDr Alison WoodAcademic Director, Homerton Changemakers, Homerton College, University of Cambridge
  • Portrait of Dr John DudleyDr John DudleyAssociate Teaching Professor, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge
  • Portrait of Abhi NahaAbhi NahaAssociate Fellow, Homerton College, University of Cambridge, Co-founder, Ascension X
  • Portrait of Olu OrugbohOlu OrugbohAssociate Fellow, Homerton College, University of Cambridge, Co-founder, Ascension X
  • Portrait of Shabeer PuthukkudiShabeer PuthukkudiCTO and Director, Core Cognitics
  • Portrait of Brian HeadBrian HeadFractional Chief Financial Officer
Meet the faculty

Programme 02 · People and transformation

Equity Reimagined, Leadership in the Digital Era

Lead AI-enabled organisational change so people, technology, performance and trust move together.

Expert insight · Guest speaker The Science of Equity Intervention and Equal Opportunity Professor Nira Chamberlain OBETechnical Fellow for Mathematical Modelling, AtkinsRéalis
Read the transcript

Look, if it’s a science problem, you know, instead of a subjective problem — if it’s a science problem, there has to be a baseline. In order to define a baseline… the baseline is, if all things are equal, what numbers do we expect to see?

And then from that you can actually branch out, taking a scientific, mathematical approach to look at EDI: look at the definition of equality, of diversity, even look at the definition of inclusion.

And it’s talking about an equity intervention, coming out with the right equity intervention.

Transcript from the captions in the video, lightly edited for readability.

01Who it is for

Leaders responsible for the people, performance and trust that determine whether transformation succeeds.

Equity Reimagined, Leadership in the Digital Era is designed for leaders navigating:

  • People and workforce strategy
  • AI-enabled transformation
  • Organisational change
  • Inclusion
  • Performance
  • Stakeholder trust
  • Leadership and transformation
02Problems it addresses
  1. Preparing people for AI-enabled transformation
  2. Workforce and technology strategies that pull in different directions
  3. The need for responsible innovation strategies
  4. Protecting performance and trust through change
  5. Moving from representation towards measurable equal opportunity
  6. Influencing leadership teams and boards through complex change
03What you will be able to do
  • Create data-led and commercially credible workforce strategies
  • Build the business case for responsible innovation and capability investment
  • Lead AI-enabled transformation responsibly
  • Align people, technology and organisational strategy
  • Strengthen organisational performance and trust
  • Influence senior leaders and boards
04What you take back

Participants work towards a data-led workforce strategy, a responsible-transformation approach, people and technology alignment, a senior stakeholder business case, a leadership and change framework, and an approach to performance, trust and responsible innovation. See all outputs

05Programme structure

Seven weeks: six live online sessions, around 5 hours a week alongside your role, and a final session in person at Homerton College, Cambridge.

Session 1Leading in systems shaped by technology, power and uncertaintyExplore how digital innovation, AI, institutions and power interact to shape real outcomes. Develop systems awareness, identify leverage points and reframe your own leadership challenges as complex, adaptive problems.
Session 2Data, markets and inclusive strategy in a changing economyBuild data-driven strategies that track market, workforce and regulatory change, and translate insight into inclusive people strategies that support performance, resilience and long-term competitiveness.
Session 3Building the business case for inclusive and responsible innovationDevelop compelling business cases for inclusive and responsible digital initiatives, showing measurable commercial value on constrained budgets and aligning people strategy, technology investment and operational priorities with senior decision-makers and boards.
Session 4Self as system: judgement, presence and leadership under pressureDevelop self-awareness as a leadership capability. Explore identity, authority, bias and emotional dynamics, strengthening judgement, presence and credibility when leading data-led, technology-driven change.
Session 5Designing a purposeful and inclusive AI strategyBuild a practical, organisation-ready AI strategy grounded in accessible data, ethical governance and operational realities, so innovation strengthens inclusion, workforce capability, trust and organisational legitimacy.
Session 6Digital and regenerative leadership capabilities for future readinessIdentify the digital and leadership competencies resilient organisations need, integrating AI capability, systems thinking and regenerative leadership into workforce planning, talent development and transformation.
Session 7In-person consolidation workshop at Homerton CollegeFrom insight to influence: work on live challenges to refine data-driven business cases, influence senior leaders, embed inclusive AI strategies and strengthen organisational capability for responsible innovation, resilience and long-term performance. Date TBC.
06Learning experience

Every session is delivered live online, with applied work on your own organisational challenge and peer learning with senior leaders, finishing in person at Homerton College, Cambridge. How the learning works

07Faculty and speakers
  • Portrait of Dr Alison WoodDr Alison WoodAcademic Director, Homerton Changemakers, Homerton College, University of Cambridge
  • Portrait of Abhi NahaAbhi NahaAssociate Fellow, Homerton College, University of Cambridge, Co-founder, Ascension X
  • Portrait of Olu OrugbohOlu OrugbohAssociate Fellow, Homerton College, University of Cambridge, Co-founder, Ascension X
Meet the faculty
Practical outputs

What you take back to your organisation

Learning experience

From learning to organisational impact

The programmes are designed around your own organisation. Live online sessions lead into applied work, which is tested in person at Cambridge and taken back as practical outputs.

  1. 1

    Live online sessions

    Every session is delivered live online, alongside a senior role.

  2. 2

    Applied organisational work

    Apply each idea to a real challenge in your own organisation.

  3. 3

    Final session in Cambridge

    Test your thinking with peers and faculty, face to face at Homerton College.

  4. 4

    Practical outputs

    Take a roadmap, strategy or business case back into your organisation.

The Cambridge experience

Finish in person at Cambridge

The final session of each programme takes place in person at Homerton College, Cambridge, where senior leaders stress-test their thinking and build lasting peer networks.

Peer exchangeCompare approaches with senior professionals facing similar decisions in other organisations and sectors.
Deeper discussionTime to work through the hardest questions in person, beyond what an online session allows.
Testing ideasBring your roadmap, strategy or business case and pressure-test it with others.
Learning with senior professionalsLearn alongside leaders who carry similar responsibility for change.
Time with facultyDirect conversation with the academics and practitioners teaching on the programme.
Network buildingRelationships with a cohort of senior leaders that last beyond the programme.

Delivered by Ascension X in collaboration with Homerton College, University of Cambridge. These are executive development programmes. They are not degree programmes and do not lead to a University of Cambridge qualification.

Faculty and speakers

Learn from people shaping the conversation

Expert insights

The thinking behind the programmes

On 15 September 2026, Ascension X brought senior leaders together at Homerton College for “Inclusive Innovation is the New Competitive Advantage”. These are some of the ideas discussed.

Professor Nira Chamberlain OBE · The Science of Equity Intervention and Equal Opportunity

“What are the numbers we expect to see, if all things are equal?”

On using probability and proper scientific measures to recognise when outcomes are statistically abnormal, trace back what is going wrong, and design the right equity intervention.

Read the transcript

Chamberlain’s law is really based on the law of probability. If tossing a fair coin is not equal to half, then Chamberlain’s law is incorrect. It’s the case of: what are the numbers we expect to see, if all things are equal?

There was a historian, David Olusoga. He says, when he looks at these corporations, “this is a statistical abnormal.” He’s a historian, telling scientists, mathematicians and engineers about EDI in corporations, that it’s statistically abnormal.

Why are we taking things which are statistically abnormal and normalising it — normalising what is statistically abnormal? That should have created some red flags, saying something’s going wrong. Using proper scientific measures, we can actually trace back and see what’s going wrong, and do the proper equity intervention.

Transcript from the captions in the video, lightly edited for readability.

Session · Accelerated Digital Innovation faculty

Generative AI

“AI is an amplifier. It’s not really meant to replace people, but to amplify people, amplify processes, and amplify organisations.”
Professor Per Ola KristenssonProfessor of Interactive Systems Engineering, University of Cambridge

A Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, specialising in intelligent interactive systems. His work has earned awards including MIT TR35 recognition and ACM UIST’s Lasting Impact Award.

Watch in the Accelerated Digital Innovation section →

Session

The Science of Equity Intervention and Equal Opportunity

“If it’s a science problem, there has to be a baseline.”
Professor Nira Chamberlain OBETechnical Fellow for Mathematical Modelling, AtkinsRéalis

A mathematician with more than 30 years’ experience in modelling and simulation. Past President of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications and of The Mathematical Association.

Watch in the Equity Reimagined section →

Session

Opening address

Dr Francesca MooreAssociate Professor, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge · Homerton Changemakers

Her teaching extends into applied learning and leadership initiatives, including Homerton Changemakers and the Homerton International Programme.

Speakers shown here spoke at an Ascension X event at Homerton College. Only those listed in the faculty section above teach on the programmes.

For organisations

Develop the leaders responsible for making transformation work

For HR, L&D, talent, organisational development, transformation and innovation leaders who need change to succeed beyond a single team.

Organisations may nominate

1

One leaderDevelop a key individual leading AI, innovation or people strategy.

2+

Several leadersBuild shared capability across a leadership team on one programme. Discounts apply when you book multiple people.

↔

A cross-functional cohortLeaders across both programmes, so technology and people strategy move together.

Example cross-functional mix

TechnologyStrategyTransformationPeople leadership

Leaders who need to deliver change together develop a shared language and aligned plans.

Request a Team Conversation Request a Quote

Discounts for multiple bookings

Discounts are available if you are booking multiple people on our programmes. Let us know the number of people you are sending and we will apply the discount.

Employers can pay directly. Tell us on the booking form if you would like to be invoiced and who the invoice should go to.

The Ascension X team can help you decide which leaders to nominate, which programme suits each of them, and how to make the case internally.

Tell us how many people+44 (0)1223 904184
Need approval?

Making the case to your employer

If your organisation needs to approve your place or your budget, we can send information to help you make the case to your manager or L&D team.

The information covers

  • What the programme helps your organisation achieve
  • The practical outputs you will bring back
  • Cohort dates, format and the in-person session at Cambridge
  • Time commitment, fees and group discounts
Request employer information

Certificate

Recognition of your participation

On successful completion, you will receive a Certificate of Participation from Homerton College, University of Cambridge.

  • Bears the Ascension X and Homerton College, University of Cambridge logo
  • Names the programme you completed
  • Signed by Homerton College and Ascension X

Sample certificate. Signatures obscured.

Sample Certificate of Participation for the Accelerated Digital Innovation programme, bearing the Ascension X and Homerton College, University of Cambridge logos
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Questions

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Executive programmes, November 2026

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