Sciences Po Hosts a Climate Change Negotiations Seminar for European Students

As part of the European university alliance CIVICA and a European Hub for university knowledge cross-fertilisation, Sciences Po hosted the third edition of an Honours Seminar on “Negotiation Skills for Public Policy: Climate Change and Environmental Transition” organised by Sciences Po Urban School with Francesco Marchi, Director of negotiation expertise at ALTERNEGO.

In January 2026, over 30 students from Sciences Po and our European partner universities attended the 4-day event. Students from the CIVICA alliance came from Berlin, Madrid, Milan, and Warsaw to meet and learn with our Master's students in Paris.

A major contribution came from two guest experts. Maxime Gauthier, Managing Director of Paris Expo Porte de Versailles and alumnus of Sciences Po Executive education, generously hosted the group at Paris Expo. His session explored the negotiation challenges behind large-scale urban infrastructure, stakeholder coordination, and balancing economic performance with environmental and public-interest goals.

The seminar also benefited from the expertise of Sofía Trenor, former Director of EU Affairs & Trade Public Policy at Amazon Web Services. She shared practical insights on strategic networking, institutional relationship-building, and how negotiation shapes policy environments at the intersection of business, technology, and European regulation.

Their interventions were integral to the seminar’s learning design, turning real-world expertise into concrete learning moments for the students.

Watch the video report about this groundbreaking learning opportunity or read the article by IE University student Megha Amudhan.

Each CIVICA Honours Seminar is a week-long intensive programme bringing together master’s students from any of the 10 universities of the CIVICA alliance, allowing for a “deep dive” in key topics addressing current global issues and leveraging upon interdisciplinary, transnational and research-intensive approaches.

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