The Global Labour University hosts a variety of events across the globe, including virtual and local workshops, conferences, summer schools, seminars and webinars.
Below you can find an overview of our events, including past and upcoming events. Note that some events are recorded and/or live-streamed, which means they can be watched online. Follow us on social media to stay up to date.
The 17th Global Labour University International Conference
The 17th GLU conference in 2026 aims to bring together scholars, labour leaders and activists, policymakers and practitioners from across the world to explore and discuss the potential and possibilities of the labour movement to shape these choices.
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applications are open!
The Global Labour University is organising an Alumni Workshop between the 7th and the 13th of September 2025 in Kassel, Germany. The alumni workshop specifically targets graduates from the MA Labour Policies and Globalisation. However, limited spots are also available for graduates from other GLU study programmes.
Find out moreAnnual GLU Conference:
Every year, one of the GLU campuses hosts the annual GLU conference bringing together approximately 200 labour scholars, activists, unionists and practitioners from over fifty countries. The conferences foster ongoing engagement between academics and trade unionists.
GLU Alumni Summer School:
The GLU programme hosts an annual GLU Alumni Summer School supported by the International Center for Development and Decent Work (ICDD), which strengthens the network’s links between former GLU students. The Summer School allows alumni to explore possibilities for future research collaboration, build a platform for discussing new and stimulating ideas to advance the global labour movement and enhance practical skills that help the alumni in their local work to advance workers’ rights worldwide.
PhD Workshops:
Once a year all PhD students from the ICDD campuses on four continents meet to present and discuss their projects on issues of decent work. These workshops expose students to new theoretical approaches and methods as well as innovative interdisciplinary perspectives.
Local Workshops:
GLU Alumni host regional workshops, bringing together alumni and labour activists in particular regions. For example, alumni from the Philippines, Africa and Turkey have hosted regional workshops.
Seminar Series:
GLU programs in all the host countries run guest lectures and seminars with leading labour scholars and trade unionists regularly.
South-South Lectures:
In 2015, the program co-hosted a South-South lecture series between South Africa and Brazil.
Film Screenings:
The GLU programs run film screenings where labour-related documentaries are shown to students. This initiative had the secondary advantage of a social space for students to give feedback about the program and form comradery among the group.
Social Theory for South African Unionists:
In 2017, GLU-WITS in South Africa launched a four-week certificate course targeting unionists and workers in South Africa. The course aims to raise the level of engagement around issues facing labour.
Below is a list of all events organised by the GLU and in collaboration with its partners.