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IRENA has recently opened application for the 8th IRENA Youth Forum 2026, to be organized in Abu Dhabi, UAE, from 8th to 10th January 2026. The special completely sponsored event will be blessed by young leaders, innovators, and game-changers to share ideas and solutions to accelerate the transition to renewable energy.

Best Highlights of IRENA Youth Forum 2026

Hosting Nation: United Arab Emirates (UAE)

City: Abu Dhabi

Duration: 8–10 January 2026

Benefits: Fully Sponsored (travel, food, and accommodation)

Application Last Date: 30 September 2025

Delegate: 35 youth representatives to be chosen

Refundable Application Fee: Not required

What is the IRENA Youth Forum?

The forum is an interactive discussion and co-operation platform on which young women and men can engage directly with:

International thought leaders

Government officials

IRENA specialists

Industry specialists

The young ones will participate in workshops, senior plenaries, youth circles, debate, roundtables, and bilateral meetings. The program intends to empower the young ones with the power to initiate new things, connect, and shape the world's renewable energy agenda.

Benefits to the Selected Participants

The winners will be sponsored with the following:

Round-trip economy air travel

Accommodation in Abu Dhabi

Local transport and food

Eligibility Criteria

It is open to young ones of all nationalities.

The applicant should be between 16 and 35 years of age.

No IELTS or English language test is required.

Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and developing countries are accorded special treatment.

Application Process

Eligible interested youths can submit their applications by 30th September 2025. Selection will be on the basis of interested youth having a keen interest in sustainable solutions, innovation, and renewable energy.

Considering once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for young leaders with only 35 international participants invited, IRENA Youth Forum 2026 would be a privileged platform for them to contribute directly to the realization of the clean energy future.

Call for Applications—Hansen Summer Exchange Program in the USA. The Hansen Leadership Institute 2026 is a Fully Funded 3-week summer exchange opportunity for all international students and U.S. Citizens at the University of San Diego, California. IELTS is not needed. Hansen Summer Institute will cover all the Expenses. No application fee. As the name indicates, it is a leadership program. Your educational background does not make a difference. Demonstrate your leadership qualities and thoughts, and connect them with the aim of the program. The Vision of the HLI is to establish a Peaceful world through International Cooperation. This program will be based on Internal Cooperation, leadership skills development, and how to build a Peaceful world. Candidates in any area of study of interest can apply for the Hansen Leadership Institute.

Information About Hansen Leadership Institute 2026 (USA)

Host Country: United States

Location: University of San Diego, California

Duration: July 1-22, 2026

Financial Coverage: Fully Funded

Deadline:

15th January 2026 (For International)

March 15, 2026 (For U.S. Citizens)

Hansen Leadership Institute Financial Benefits

The Fred J. Hansen Foundation funds the Hansen Summer Institute. The program includes:

International Airfare Tickets

Room and Board

All Program Expenses, including Local Tours

Paid U.S. Visa Fee.

The Hansen Leadership program is a combination of classroom teaching, practical workshops, and fieldtrips.

Students are taught about a range of leadership subjects, such as conflict resolution, mediation, intercultural dialogue and management, social entrepreneurship, and public speaking.

Eligibility Requirements for Overseas Applicants (NON-US)

Undergraduate students with two years of higher education.

Master student with professional interest in international relations, diplomacy, international economic development, and allied fields.

Students should be between 20 and 25 years of age at the program commencement.

Demonstrate your leadership activities.

GPA is not included in the selection process.

Letter of Recommendation from Academic Advisor.

Possess a valid international passport.

Preference shall be given to candidates who have never traveled to the United States.

Eligibility Criteria for U.S. Students

Any student of any university of the United States.

Undergraduate with 2 years of college/university education.

Graduate student having professional interest in international relations, diplomacy, international economic development, or related areas.

Students should be between the ages of 20 and 25 at the beginning of the program.

Selection and Result

The selection panel will begin to review international student applications during February, and all applicants will receive results by email in mid to late March.

For many aspiring scholars, the United States has long been a symbol of academic opportunity. President Donald Trump's travel ban, however, proclaimed last year, has closed doors for thousands of foreign students from nearly 19 countries. The policies have particularly pinched students from Iran, Myanmar, and Afghanistan, where education is already weak.

One of them, 21-year-old Afghan student Bahara Saghari, told the Associated Press that she had dreamed of studying business administration at one of Illinois's liberal arts schools. She studied for years in preparation to take English tests and was accepted but prevented from enrolling. "You think finally you're going to your dream, and then something came up and like, everything's just gone," she said.

Students Left High and Dry by Travel Restrictions

Over 5,700 student visas were awarded last year to students from the nations, and Iran and Myanmar accounted for more than half of them, the US State Department reported. Those pipelines have since been severed. Some students, such as 17-year-old Iranian chemistry major Pouya Karami, had to delay entry. Others, such as Myanmar's "Gu Gu," had their offers withdrawn after visa appointment cancellations. Those families who had been working for decades to earn enough money to take their children abroad are now stuck.

Foreign students have enriched America's institutions with innovation and intercultural sensitivity for decades. Detractors argue delayed or missed opportunities threaten not just individual futures but also the country's global standing. "You lose this naively optimistic vision of the world," said Amir, an Iranian scholar who lost his position at the University of Pennsylvania. "Maybe people don't want you there. That's a pretty hard thing to accept."

Whatever the measure, short-term suspension or long-term policy, the disruption is evident: education has been made collateral in geopolitical conflicts. 

National Security vs. Academic Freedom

The Trump policy is defended by the administration as a safeguard against "deficient" screening processes in certain nations, citing high numbers of visa overstay and security threats. While green card recipients, dual nationals, and some exceptions are exempted, the limit has introduced vulnerabilities to American campuses. University officials warn of the ripple effect on research, diversity, and knowledge exchange.

The Trump administration's immigration policy is not only affecting students who are looking to study higher education in the US, but also companies serving this demographic.

In an attempt to mitigate the effects, education startups are opening new fronts in other parts of the world like the Middle East, Asia and Europe, and providing value-add services like loans and other assistance to students, founders added.

As per a November 2024 report by Frost & Sullivan, Indian students studying abroad were estimated at 2.5 million by 2030 – from 770,000 in 2019 and an estimated 1.65 million in 2023 – with the US, UK, Australia and Canada being the most preferred countries. 

But during the Trump era, the number of students traveling to the US is declining.

As per a report by Bloomberg, following data analysis provided by the US International Trade Administration, foreign students arriving in the US decreased 28% year-on-year in July 2025, with Indian students decreasing 46%.

This has impacted overseas education startups specifically that serve the US market like AdmitKard and Leap.

Numerous new startups have emerged over the past few years to serve foreign-bound students, which until a few months ago had a CAGR of 7%.

Sudeep Laad, global education practice managing director at LEK Consulting, said 50% of all Indian students abroad go to the top four nations, and the US and Canada take approximately half of that. The other two top destinations are the UK and Australia.

Business under pressure

Rachit Agarwal, AdmitKard's founder, explained that 45% of students traveling to Canada and the US contributed to around 35% of the company's revenues. That segment has been hit.

He had said there were roughly 150,000 Indian students going to the US, and that number has decreased to 60,000 now. This drop is visible in the business of AdmitKard, and the rate of approvals has dramatically fallen. The company is facing cost pressure while dealing with the changing scenario.

"It is an absolute bloodbath," Agarwal said to ET.

Another of the founders, who wished to remain anonymous, added that education loan startups targeting students who are relocating to the US are also affected since many of the students cannot get visas in time and others are reconsidering their options.

Crizac, which listed recently and bought Raj Consulting last year to grow its US business, during an earnings call last month stated that there is uncertainty over the US, with thousands of students being affected.

Gaurav Jain of Kaizenvest, an education sector-focused PE fund, said some of the players in the market could experience a fall in revenues or shut shop, as they rebase by increasing geographies and providing value-added services.

AdmitKard's Agarwal added some of the startups, including theirs, have already raised concerns with the external affairs ministry, which has pledged assistance to smoothen the process of expanding in Europe, and opening up more destinations in the Middle East. 

Recalibration

AdmitKard is opening in the UK, which would take 18-24 months, and expanding more destinations at a focus on cost, which has faced pressure, according to Agarwal.

Akshay Chaturvedi, the founder of Leverage Edu, whose biggest market is the UK, told geopolitics is a gigantic risk involved in the business.

His company is also diversifying, increasing both the source and destination markets, meaning students and universities they represent.

India is presently LeverageEdu's largest student market but it is experiencing demand from Dubai, Africa, Nepal and in South Asian nations like Malaysia and Vietnam, Chaturvedi said. Destination-wise, the firm is looking to expand into Dubai, Australia and Canada as well, he added.

Crizac in its August earnings call indicated that there is increasing demand for new or alternative places, like South Asian students traveling to Dubai or Chinese students traveling to Malaysia and Singapore.

Kaizenvest's Jain explained that certain companies are seeking deeper relationships with their present clients by providing value-added products like loans.

Each spring, millions of graduates receive a diploma, walk across the stage, and prepare to become citizens of the real world but once the pomp and circumstance have faded, many are hit with the harsh reality of not feeling prepared to go into the workforce. More than 60% of US graduates indicated inconsistencies between college preparation and employers' expectations in a 2022 survey conducted by the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U). Employers also verify this, with some affirming that there is a discrepancy between classroom teaching and requirements of contemporary working environments.

The perception of "unpreparedness" among US graduates is not about lack of motivation or intelligence, but rather one of mismatch between the higher education system and the changing jobs market. By filling in the gap with work-based learning and soft skill acquisition, colleges can make degrees actual launchpads.

Why this gap?

The employers want digital equipment skills, communication, problem-solving and team working, which are not necessarily prioritized in the traditional classes but the majority of the graduates have strong theoretical foundations and little application. A 2019 Journal of Education and Work study showed that employers graded the graduates lower in terms of adaptability, problem-solving and communication compared to technical skills.

Not all students do internships, apprenticeships, and project work. Without them, the graduates are left lost when they transition from theory to practice. In 2021, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) found that students who had internship experience were twice as likely to report confidence in job readiness compared to non-internship students.

Graduates have at times been given degrees without knowing the needs of the labour market. Excess in certain areas and shortages in others are created as a result, with the majority of graduates having degrees but no mission.

A Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce survey done in 2020 revealed that there were job openings in healthcare, skilled trades and tech fields, yet oversurplused graduates from majors experienced more underemployment.

Entering the workplace also requires emotional resilience, which most students lack. Pressure to perform and ambiguity in career choices can escalate stress. A 2021 Journal of Adolescent Research report presented that students who lacked good coping skills reported greater difficulty adapting to initial career challenges despite GPA. 

How to fix it?

Inject career preparation into the curriculum: Colleges may integrate workplace simulations, group projects and case studies into all majors.

Increase internship opportunities: University-industry collaborations may offer official, paid internships to additional students.

Increase soft skill learning: Communication, leadership and flexibility courses need to be mandatory, not elective.

Accelerate early career guidance: Students need to be guided about labour market demand and career options before declaring major.

Enable lifelong learning: Upskilling, certification and e-learning need to become the norm as career development.

A report in 2022 by the Brookings Institution discovered that graduates who combined classroom learning with practical experience (internships, research, co-ops) were 30% more satisfied in their jobs and had easier work transitions. The message is clear for students: your degree matters but the capabilities, experiences and perseverance you acquire alongside are the things that actually set you up to succeed.

The White House is hailing news that one of the top medical education accreditors will drop its DEI mandates.

"President Trump is preserving civil rights and restoring opportunity based on merit. Organizations such as the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education are making the smart choice in deciding not to continue to waste resources on polarizing DEI departments," White House assistant press secretary Liz Huston told Fox News Digital.

"American greatness is founded on individual dignity, hard work and excellence, and these humiliating 'equity' directives have no business in our institutions," Huston said.

In a release last week obtained by Fox News Digital, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) stated that it will scrap its DEI mandates and close its Department of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

"Recent federal mandates, such as executive orders and a pending rule by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, have barred accrediting agencies from mandating or otherwise promoting an emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)," ACGME stated in a release.

"Such mandates have been applied to programs and hospitals that receive Medicare reimbursement for GME," the release continued.

The group, which is an independent nonprofit that formulates and monitors graduate medical education standards including residencies and fellowships, indicated it will adhere to President Donald Trump's several executive orders to cut DEI.

"In accordance with these federal mandates, the ACGME has taken a number of steps, such as retiring DEI-specific accreditation requirements, revising the organization's applicable policies and procedures, and closing the Department of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion," ACGME stated.

In the statement, ACGME indicated it will help "stakeholders through this transition," and ensure their "accreditation system represents both the highest standards of medical education for all fellows and residents caring for all patients and the regulatory environment in place."