As part of its global cooperation with international educational and research institutions as well as think tanks, the Diplomatic Council has formalised a strategic partnership with ISCTE – University Institute of Lisbon. Founded in 1977, ISCTE is one of Portugal’s leading public research universities, specialising in social sciences, economics, management, and technology. The ISCTE Business School, accredited by both AACSB and AMBA, is recognised as Portugal’s foremost training ground for C-level executives and ranks among the world’s leading business schools.

The ceremony marking the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was hosted by ISCTE Vice-Rector Professor Helena Carreiras, former Minister of Defence of Portugal (2022–2024), Associate Dean for Internationalisation and Research Professor Renato Pereira, Diplomatic Council (DC) Secretary General Hang Nguyen, Head of the DC Global Security Forum Jochen M. Richter, former Director of the European Parliament, Head of the DC Mission India Professor Dr. Govindraj Dempo, Board Member of the Diplomatic Council Future Academy, as well as Andreas Dripke, Executive Chairman of the Diplomatic Council.

There are a number of areas in which both partners want to work together. These include, for example, real-world artificial intelligence. The Diplomatic Council recently published a study on this topic, which states that teal-world AI will have a much greater impact on the future than the generative AI models that are popular today. Examples of applications for "AI in the real world", often referred to as "physical AI", include manufacturing robots and humanoids, quality control with AI cameras, predictive machine and plant maintenance, autonomous logistics systems, medical diagnosis, self-driving cars and smart cities.

For the Diplomatic Council, the partnership with ISCTE – University Institute of Lisbon stands in line with its collaborations with distinguished universities, academies, business schools, and think tanks around the world. Notable examples include the long-standing relationship with the Brussels Diplomatic Academy (BDA) of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and the establishment of the Asian-based Global Committee for Innovation, Sustainability & Entrepreneurship + Education (DCISE). .