The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is pleased to announce a transformative $15 million gift from the Blavatnik Family Foundation to strengthen and expand the Blavatnik Internship Program. Including both endowment and current-use support, this generous commitment more than doubles the foundation’s original investment in the program and builds on its remarkable success. “We hope this expanded program will open doors for the next generation of leaders and equip them to tackle the defining challenges of our time,” said Len Blavatnik, founder of Access Industries and CFR life member. This new gift allows CFR to grow its program by offering full-time internships for the summer cohort and to meet growing operating costs. The expansion will give participants a richer, more sustained experience at the institution, deepening their engagement with CFR’s scholars and programs. The Blavatnik Internship Program reflects CFR’s commitment to cultivating diverse, talented voices in the foreign policy community and preparing tomorrow’s global experts to navigate an increasingly complex world.
Billboard has included the Warner Music Blavatnik Center for Music Business at Howard University in its 2026 list of Top Music Business Schools. Led by music industry executive Jasmine “Jazz” Young, the Center combines academic excellence with real-world application to prepare students for careers in the music industry. Students learn from practitioners with experience at Warner Music Group, Def Jam, Atlantic Records and Live Nation. In partnership with the RIAA, students have explored the legal, ethical, creative and commercial implications of artificial intelligence for music creation, ownership and artists’ rights. The Center also continually updates its courses to reflect contemporary music and culture, including a new offering centered on the career of Cardi B.
A $25 million gift from the Blavatnik Family Foundation is supporting USC School of Cinematic Arts’ planned Blavatnik Center for Virtual Production in University Park. The proposed 20,000-square-foot facility at 625 W. 32nd Street would replace a surface parking lot between the Cinematic Arts Center and the Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts. Plans call for two stages with wraparound LED walls, performance-capture, camera-tracking and lighting systems, along with classrooms and labs equipped for 3D design. Designed by Bastien and Associates, the contemporary two-story building would feature painted plaster and metal finishes, with courtyards connecting it to neighboring facilities. The project remains subject to City of Los Angeles approvals, but would further expand USC’s capacity to educate students in emerging production technologies.
The Blavatnik School of Government is launching ‘Leading AI through co-creation', a new executive AI leadership programme equipping non-technical leaders with the knowledge and practical frameworks to develop more effective, sustainable and responsible AI systems through co-creation. This executive AI leadership programme gives non-technical leaders the knowledge and practical frameworks required to accelerate the co-creation of more effective, sustainable and responsible AI systems from the outset. It draws on the real-life lessons of Oxford Institute of Technology and Justice, the first global initiative dedicating to harnessing the power of AI for justice. Applications for the first cohort are now open.
The Blavatnik Family Foundation is supporting Lab to Market: Bridging Innovation and Entrepreneurship, a five-year initiative coordinated by the National Technical University of Athens and Columbia Engineering to help emerging scientists in Greece translate research into viable ventures. Launched in January 2026, the program provides entrepreneurship education, mentoring, access to Greek and international innovation networks, and direct engagement with Columbia University and New York’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The Foundation’s support enables the program, including travel to New York, to be offered at no cost to participants. The first cycle concluded with an inaugural Pitch Competition, where 15 teams presented ideas spanning health, artificial intelligence for shipping, sustainability, and diagnostics. Participants represented 18 cities across Greece and eight Greek universities, reflecting the initiative’s geographic and scientific breadth. WasteChain, Pharos Maritime AI, and Mediva-RX received the top three awards as the initiative continues to strengthen connections among academic research, innovation, and entrepreneurship in Greece.
Columbia Engineering, the Hellenic Institute of Advanced Studies, and Columbia Global Center Athens hosted the inaugural Lab to Market event during New York Tech Week, bringing 25 student-entrepreneurs from the National Technical University of Athens to New York City. The program gave 11 student teams an opportunity to explore the U.S. innovation ecosystem, engage with faculty and industry leaders, and present their ventures at Columbia’s Morningside Heights campus. Discussions focused on translating research into real-world applications in areas including artificial intelligence, health technology, and sustainable materials. The initiative reflects a growing collaboration across institutions and continents, connecting Greek scientific talent with Columbia’s entrepreneurial community. The Blavatnik Family Foundation is funding the Lab to Market initiative over five years, making participation free of charge for all students.
Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government for a discussion on the future of democracy in a technology-driven world. The visit included a conversation with Dean Ngaire Woods and the School’s Master of Public Policy class, as well as a meeting with Canadian students. Trudeau’s engagement offered students the opportunity to hear from a former head of government on the evolving challenges facing democratic institutions, public leadership, and governance. The discussion reflected the Blavatnik School’s role as a forum for rigorous exchange among policymakers, scholars, and emerging public leaders.
In a recent letter published by The Guardian, Professor Ngaire Woods, founding dean of the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford, warned that the UK government’s decision to halt study visas for students from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan risks excluding future leaders whose experience and expertise are vital to their communities and to the wider world. She argues that universities play an important role in equipping talented students to address complex public challenges and that international learning strengthens both institutions and societies. The letter highlights graduates who have gone on to contribute in fields including girls’ education, public health, and independent journalism, underscoring the broader civic value of access to higher education.
Time contributors Amal Clooney and Philippa Webb highlight a widening global justice gap—where women’s rights often exist “only on paper” and underserved communities lack legal support—and argue that artificial intelligence could be a force for inclusion if governed responsibly. Drawing on their work co-founding the Oxford Institute of Technology and Justice with the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University and the Clooney Foundation for Justice, they describe AI-powered tools that help women in Malawi understand their rights and connect to pro bono lawyers, assist threatened journalists with real-time legal support, and accelerate legal processes like protection orders in ways that make legal systems more accessible and humane. Webb and Clooney also underscore the need to pair innovation with safeguards, tracking AI’s use in courts and training judges to ensure fairness. The Blavatnik School plays a central role in shaping this work by combining research, policy engagement, and convening power to guide how new technologies serve the public good.
Providing many of the world's best researchers, scientists, and universities with support, and funding to discover breakthroughs that solve humankind's greatest challenges.
The Foundation contributes to renowned institutions that showcase the breadth of arts and culture, including performance, exhibition and education.
The Blavatnik Archive is a nonprofit foundation dedicated to preserving and disseminating materials that contribute to the study of 20th-century Jewish and world history, with a special emphasis on World War I, World War II, and Soviet Russia.
