Global Counselors Academy

Technology, Change & the New Learning Landscape

School counselors and educational leaders stand at the center of one of the most profound transformations in the history of learning. The rise of intelligent tools, shifting student needs, rapid global change, and new models of human development are redefining what it means to guide, support, mentor, and lead within a school community. This opening session introduces The Next Generation Edition of the Global Counselors Academy—a renewed, future-ready program designed to equip counselors with the vision and tools needed to thrive in this evolving landscape.

During this first encounter, participants will be welcomed into the Academy, meet the teaching team, and explore the structure, rhythm, and expectations of the program. We will present how the eight sessions connect to form a coherent journey of professional growth, leadership development, and practical application. Together, we will examine how the digital era—and especially AI—is transforming the counselor’s role, expanding what is possible while reinforcing the need for strong human leadership, empathy, and relational intelligence.

Participants will also be introduced to the IE digital campus, where all preparatory materials and resources will be available, as well as the collaboration platform, which supports discussion, reflection, and community learning between sessions. Understanding these tools from the start ensures that every counselor can fully engage, contribute, and benefit from this global learning experience.

This session sets the foundation for the entire Academy: a space where counselors learn with and from one another, strengthen their leadership identity, and prepare to guide students and schools through a world where change is constant—and human connection remains essential.

CONTENT

• Program overview: structure, purpose, and guiding principles of The Next Generation Edition
• Introduction of instructors and the counselor-centered leadership approach
• Presentation of the IE digital campus and collaboration platform
• Exploration of how technology and AI are reshaping the counselor’s role
• Understanding community learning as the backbone of the Academy

Redefining the Counselor’s Role in an AI-Shaped Educational World

School counselors are experiencing a historic shift in their professional identity. As artificial intelligence transforms the way students learn, communicate, and make decisions, the counselor’s role becomes more essential than ever—not less. In this session, we explore a modern framework that captures the core competencies counselors need to lead confidently in today’s rapidly evolving educational landscape: the ABCDE of the School Counselor.

This model integrates the most relevant dimensions of contemporary counseling practice. A for Adaptability highlights the counselor’s capacity to respond to uncertainty, guide students through change, and model resilience in an unpredictable world. B for Brain-Based Learning brings the latest insights from neuroscience into everyday interactions, helping counselors understand how attention, memory, emotion, and identity influence academic and personal development.

With C for Coaching Skills, counselors learn to empower students through questioning, listening, and strengths-based strategies that promote autonomy, motivation, and clarity. D for Digital Competence addresses the increasing need for counselors to navigate digital tools, AI-based systems, online communication, and emerging technologies with confidence and purpose. Finally, E for Emotional Intelligence reinforces the counselor’s unique contribution: fostering trust, empathy, belonging, and emotional regulation—skills that no machine will ever replace.

This session builds on the foundations of the original Academy while offering a refreshed, future-ready perspective that reflects the demands of the digital era. Participants will explore real examples, practical tools, and reflective questions that help them redefine their identity as counselors capable of leading human-centered transformation within their schools.

CONTENT

• Understanding the evolving role of counselors in the age of AI
• A – Adaptability: navigating change and guiding students through uncertainty
• B – Brain-Based Learning: applying neuroscience to support learning and wellbeing
• C – Coaching Skills: empowering students through effective communication and guidance
• D – Digital Competence: using technology and AI responsibly and strategically
• E – Emotional Intelligence: strengthening relationships, belonging, and human connection

Amplifying Human Potential in the Age of Intelligent Tools

In this hands-on session, guest professor Iñigo Cavestany, expert in artificial intelligence and digital transformation, will join the Academy to explore how AI is reshaping the daily work of counselors and educators. Alongside Carlos Pallero, participants will discover how intelligent tools can expand human potential by enhancing the core abilities that define impactful counseling: curiosity, communication, empathy, and strategic thinking.

The way students learn, and the way counselors guide them, is changing faster than ever. As AI becomes part of our daily routines, the real opportunity is not replacing human judgment, but strengthening the abilities that make us uniquely human: curiosity, communication, empathy, and strategic thinking.

In this hands-on session, we will explore how counselors and educators can use AI to work smarter, not harder. Participants will learn practical techniques to boost productivity, simplify complex tasks, and create more space for what truly matters: supporting students, families, and communities.

By the end of the workshop, attendees will understand how to:

• Use AI tools to streamline research, content creation, and communication
• Build repeatable workflows that save time daily
• Develop a healthier, more intentional relationship with technology
• Enhance their role as trusted guides in a rapidly evolving educational landscape

This session is designed to help counselors elevate their craft and emerge with a renewed sense of agency in a world where learning never stops.

CONTENT

• How AI enhances productivity while reinforcing human-centered counseling
• Practical tools to streamline research, content creation, and communication
• Designing repeatable workflows that save time and reduce cognitive load
• Developing an intentional and healthy relationship with emerging technologies

Building AI-Enabled Teams and Workflows

In this second AI-focused session, we will once again have Iñigo Cavestany as our invited professor. He will guide participants through the transition from individual AI usage to building collaborative, AI-enabled teams and workflows across educational institutions.

Schools, universities, and counseling teams are entering a new era where collaboration happens across borders, disciplines, and time zones. AI is no longer just a personal tool; it is becoming the connective force that links people, processes, and ideas.

This workshop will move from personal AI adoption to team-level transformation. Together, we will learn how to design simple but powerful workflows that automate routine tasks and free teams to focus on higher-value conversations with students. We will also explore how emerging Agentic AI technologies enable continuous collaboration, proactive support, and richer decision-making.

Participants will discover how to:

• Co-create AI workflows that support day-to-day counseling and school administration
• Automate repetitive work while preserving human oversight and empathy
• Expand collaboration across departments, schools, and international networks
• Learn Agentic AI to build a more connected, student-centered educational experience

By the end of the session, counselors will walk away with real examples, shared experiences, and the confidence to lead collaborative AI adoption in their institutions. 

CONTENT

• Designing collaborative AI-enabled workflows for counseling teams
• Automating routine tasks while maintaining human-centered oversight
• Expanding collaboration across departments, schools, and international networks
• Understanding Agentic AI for continuous and proactive support
• Practical examples for leading team-level AI transformation

Science-Based Strategies for Thriving Students, Educators & Communities

Supporting wellbeing is no longer an optional part of counseling—it is the foundation of academic success, emotional development, and healthy school cultures. In a world where students and teachers face constant pressure, overstimulation, and digital fatigue, counselors play a critical role in helping communities understand and regulate the nervous system, build resilience, and cultivate environments where people can flourish.

This session reframes wellbeing not as a soft, abstract concept, but as a physiological skill supported by neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral science. Counselors will explore how stress, connection, and safety shape the brain’s capacity to learn, focus, and relate to others. Through practical tools and micro-interventions, participants will learn how to help students reset their nervous systems, strengthen emotional regulation, and develop sustainable wellbeing habits.

Building on principles from affective neuroscience, positive psychology, and the latest research on motivation and behavior, this workshop provides a grounded and accessible approach to wellbeing that counselors can use immediately in their sessions and across their schools. 

CONTENT

• The neurobiology of stress, resilience, and emotional regulation
• Polyvagal-informed strategies to support student wellbeing
• The science of habits, motivation, and positive behavior change
• Micro-practices to help students and educators reset their nervous systems
• Designing school-wide wellbeing cultures that promote safety, connection, and growth

Turning Neuroscience Into Everyday Magic

This session will be delivered by Samantha Hernández, expert in educational neuroscience and learning sciences. She will guide participants through the latest research on how young brains learn, regulate emotions, build identity, and respond to challenge—translating complex science into simple, powerful strategies counselors can use immediately.

Educational neuroscience has turbo-charged our understanding of how young brains learn, regulate emotions, build identity, and navigate challenge. Yet most schools are still operating with 20th-century assumptions about attention, memory, motivation, and behaviour. It is time for an upgrade.

This session brings the most impactful, classroom-ready insights from neuroscience, psychology, and learning science; translated into practical tools counsellors can use immediately. We’ll explore how neural plasticity, stress systems, relational safety, and the adolescent brain can dramatically reshape educational support strategies.

You’ll experience concrete methods, case examples, and micro-interventions that help students learn better, feel safer, and thrive.

CONTENT

• Neuroplasticity and the mechanisms that truly change the brain
• The science of attention and memory (and why multitasking is a myth)
• Stress, trauma, and the nervous system in school life
• Understanding adolescent brain development
• Applying brain-smart strategies in counseling conversations

The Neuroscience of Equity, Identity & Inclusive Schools

This session explores one of the most powerful drivers of learning and wellbeing: the human need for belonging. Through the lens of neuroscience and identity development, participants will discover how counselors can shape school environments where every student feels safe, valued, and able to thrive. The workshop translates complex research into practical, evidence-based strategies that strengthen equity and inclusion in daily counseling practice.

Inclusion isn’t a “nice-to-have” — it’s a neurobiological requirement. The human brain is wired for belonging; when students feel excluded, judged, or unsafe, their learning and wellbeing drop instantly.

This session blends DEIB science with counselling practice, using insights from social neuroscience, identity formation, implicit bias, and stereotype threat. Counsellors will learn evidence-based techniques to create identity-safe micro-climates, challenge bias, and support diverse learners more effectively. 

CONTENT

• How belonging and exclusion manifest in the brain
• Identity development in children and adolescents
• Detecting and interrupting unconscious bias
• Cultural neuroplasticity: how environments shape thinking and behaviour
• Tools for inclusive counseling conversations and equitable school ecosystems

Human Skills for Connection, Leadership & the Future of Counseling

+ Collaborative Final Project

As the Global Counselors Academy comes to a close, we return to the foundation of every counselor’s practice: emotional intelligence. In a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, the skills that define meaningful human connection—self-awareness, empathy, relational management, and emotional regulation—are more essential than ever. This final session explores how counselors can strengthen these human capacities to guide students, families, and school communities with clarity, authenticity, and purpose.

Building on insights from the previous sessions, participants will explore how emotional intelligence enables counselors to create trusting relationships, have deeper conversations, and navigate moments of uncertainty or conflict. We will examine how the rise of AI amplifies the need for emotional skills, and how counselors can position themselves as the emotional anchors of their institutions—leaders who cultivate belonging, wellbeing, and shared understanding.

This session also serves as the Academy’s closing gathering. We will reflect on the journey travelled together, connect the major themes of the program, and introduce the Collaborative Final Project: a collective creation developed by all counselors in this edition. The project synthesizes the learnings from the eight sessions and showcases how the group envisions the future of school counseling in an AI-enhanced world.

The goal is not only to demonstrate understanding, but to create something meaningful as a global community—a forward-thinking contribution that future cohorts may build upon.

CONTENT

• Understanding emotional intelligence in the age of AI
• Strengthening empathy, self-awareness, and relational skills for modern counseling
• How EI supports leadership, belonging, and conflict navigation in schools
• Closing reflections: integrating neuroscience, AI, wellbeing, and inclusion
• Introduction and launch of the Collaborative Final Project for this edition