Future Leaders Institute

Future Leaders Institute
future leaders institute

Future Leaders Institute (FLI)

An overnight summer program in Philosophy, Politics, Ethics, and Global Justice.

Founded in 2014, The Future Leaders Institute (FLI) offers an overnight philosophy camp for thoughtful high-school students to discuss big ideas in a collaborative environment while making friends and enjoying summer in coastal New Hampshire. Award-winning faculty Nick Smith (UNH Philosophy) and Eden Suoth (Oyster River Social Studies and Fulbright Scholar) bring interdisciplinary and highly interactive learning approaches to immerse students in social and political philosophy and coach them to apply these powerful tools to current issues.

We aim to introduce students to challenging ideas while creating an emotionally comfortable “pre-college” environment. Past participants have flourished in their cohorts, and we channel this infectious energy toward building leadership and social skills that will serve them well in college and beyond. FLI tends to be an especially good fit for students interested in Ethics Bowl, Socratic Society, Model United Nations, debate, and similar activities.

For questions and more information, contact: nick.smith@unh.edu

This course is currently unavailable.

Click the '+' on the session registration block(s) to choose your session and enroll. Review the Online Registration Instructions before enrolling for the best outcome.

Family Accounts are recommended for enrolling multiple children from one family in any UNH Youth Program. If you already have an account in our system, you will be asked to log into either a Family or Student Account after adding the program to your shopping cart. Be sure to use the username and password for the type of account you wish to log into. We recommend attempting to log into the Student or Family account before enrollment opens as this will minimize difficulty and time while enrolling. Email youth.programs@unh.edu if you require assistance recovering your account information. Do not create a new account if you have one already.

If you don't have an account already, you can set up an account at any time, even before you begin the registration process. If you are setting up a student account, the account must be in the name of student, but the email address provided in the profile should be that of a parent/legal guardian, not the participating student. Review the Online Registration Instructions before creating a new account.

Day 1

12:00-1:00       Check in. Everyone should be checked in, moved into their dorm room, and ready to discuss humanity’s future by 1:00.

1:00-1:15         Walk over to Hamilton Smith Hall

1:15-1:45         Welcome!

1:45-3:45        Opening “Debate”: Is humanity making progress? Or is that a myth? How do we measure progress: more people, longer lives, less suffering, more justice, or something else? What drives progress: reason, evolution, markets, god, or something else? Does a belief in progress commit us to viewing some cultures as more advanced than others? Can a civilization experience STEM progress but be in decline?

3:45-5:45         Guest Professor Chris Brooks: Leadership, Values, and Progress

6:00-7:00         Working Dinner on Leadership at Holloway Commons

7:15–8:00        TAs Share Rules and Expectations

8:00                   Socratic Society Session: Utilitarianism, the Trolley Problem, and AI-Driving Cars
                            Game Night: Trial By Trolley 

11:00 p.m.       Lights Out (No Exceptions!)

 

Day 2

7:30-8:30         Breakfast at Holloway Commons

9:00-12:00       AI Calibers, Hopes, and Fears

12:00-2:00       Lunch at Holloway Commons/Pool/Rest

2:00-4:00         Ethics Bowl Rounds on AI

4:00-6:00         Reading/Free Time/Pool/Rest

4:00-5:00         Simulation Theory by Request (Optional)

5:00-6:00         Phil of Consciousness

6:00-7:00         Dinner at Holloway Commons

7:15-9:00         Socratic Society Session: AI and Consciousness

9:00                   Watch and Discuss Yuval Harari on AI and The Future of Humanity                   

                           (Optional if your brain is overfull)

11:00 p.m.       Lights Out (No Exceptions!)

 

Day 3

7:30-8:30         Breakfast at Holloway Commons

9:00-12:00       Capitalism and Technology

                             Case Studies on Weapons Development

12:00-2:00       Lunch at Holloway Commons/Pool/Rest

2:00-4:00         Ethics Bowl Rounds on Capitalism and Technology

4:00-6:00         Reading/Free Time/Pool/Rest

6:00-7:00         Dinner at Holloway Commons

7:15-8:30       Socratic Society Session: Ask Me Anything with Climate Scientist  Stefan Sobolowski (NORCE, Norway)    

8:30-9:45         Part I: What is College Like and How Can you Excel? Q&A with Nick,

                            Stefan, and Professor Mana Kia (Columbia University)

11:00 p.m.      Lights Out (No Exceptions!)

 

Day 4

7:30-8:30         Breakfast at Holloway Commons

9:00-11:30       State Governance of Technology

                             Case Studies on Biotechnology

12:00-2:00       Lunch at Holloway Commons/Pool/Rest

2:00-4:00         Ethics Bowl Rounds on State Governance of Technology

4:00-6:00         Reading/Free Time/Pool/Rest

6:00-7:00         Dinner at Holloway Commons

7:15-8:00         TA Jesus La Paz’s McNair research on AI and Inequality

8:00-9:30         Movie Night and Discussion: Nosedive

9:30                 TBD

11:00 p.m.       Lights Out (No Exceptions!)

 

Day 5

7:30-8:30         Breakfast at Holloway Commons

9:00-12:00       Big Data and Social Media

12:00-12:45     Quick Lunch at Holloway Commons

1:00-5:30         Trip to UNH’s Mendum’s Pond: swimming, boating, chilling…

6:00-7:00         Dinner at Holloway Commons

7:15                   Socratic Society Session: The Attention Economy and the Commercialization of Mindfulness           

9:00                 Part II: What is College Like and How Can you Excel?
                          Real Talk with TAs

11:00 p.m.       Lights Out (No Exceptions!)

 

Day 6

7:30-8:30         Breakfast at Holloway Commons

9:00-12:00       NASA 2025, Space Colonization, and Alien Contact

12:00-2:00       Lunch at Holloway Commons/Pool/Rest

2:00-4:00         Ethics Bowl Rounds on Space and Alien Contact

4:00-6:00         Reading/Free Time/Pool/Rest

6:00-8:00         Dinner Groups in Durham with TAs and Faculty
                           (Tideline, Hop and Grind, Thai Smile…)

8:00-9:30         Team Prep for Saturday Cases
                            Game Night: Cosmic Encounter and Other Games

11:00 p.m.       Lights Out (No Exceptions!)

 

Day 7

7:30-8:30        Breakfast at Holloway Commons

9:00-12:00      Concluding Ethics Bowl Tournament—Parents Welcome!

12:00-1:00       Catered Lunch in Hamilton Smith Hall

1:30                   Checked out of Dorms—see you next year!

UNH has partnered with CampDoc to quicken the enrollment process. Enrollments and payments will still be made here through our current enrollment system, but no registration questions will be required at that time. Within a few days of enrolling, the email provided in the student or family account will receive an email prompting completion of the registration questions.

It is important that a parent/guardian responds to the CampDoc email and completes the registration questions promptly. Families who enrolled a child in a UNH Youth Program in Summer 2023 or after will likely already have a CampDoc account. Even if the student already has a CampDoc account, a parent/guardian should log into the student's account to review and complete any necessary questions for a specific program or year.

All registration questions must be 100% complete in CampDoc before a student can attend a youth program.

For more information, including the CampDoc Support Line, review our CampDoc page.