Deadline: February 10, 2020.

At the Aspen Tech Policy Hub, we take tech experts, teach them the policy process through an in-person fellowship program in the Bay Area, and encourage them to develop outside-the-box solutions to society’s problems. We model ourselves after tech incubators like Y Combinator, but train new policy thinkers and focus the impact of their ideas. We’re building new ideas for policymaking — every fellow must complete one practical policy output during their time with us — and an alumni base of technologists who understand policy and want to engage with it.

ELIGIBILITY

They are looking for people with three key characteristics:

1 – Applicants should have significant professional experience with technology.

For instance, applicants might work as an engineer, computer scientist, or business executive at a technology company; might be trained as a data scientist or in human-computer interaction; might work at a university or at a think tank studying cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, or the Internet of Things; or might have professional technology experience such as serving as a patent lawyer. Please note these are just illustrative examples; they are not intended to limit eligibility to these categories.

2 – Applicants should show potential to apply their technology experience to affecting policy and social change.

They should be passionate about solving the world’s problems, and should be able to clearly articulate creative, innovative ideas about the ways in which they want to make a difference and how their experience will help them do that. We are particularly interested in applicants who are passionate about problems in four priority areas:

• Cybersecurity;
• The effects of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, autonomous vehicles, and quantum computing;
• Protecting democracy, combating disinformation or misinformation, and election security; and
• Using technology to help at-risk populations or encourage social justice.

3 – Applicants have not yet significantly explored their potential to enact change through policy.

This is an introductory program to the policymaking process, and applicants with significant past policy experience are likely to be too advanced for this program. While all are welcome to apply, we will prioritize applicants who do not have significant previous policy experience (e.g., a master’s in public policy; past experience working in a policy role)

Other requirements for the program include:

• Applicant(s) must be at least 21 years of age by the start of the program.
• Applicant(s) must be fluent in English.
• Applicant(s) must be able to make a full-time commitment to the incubator process between June 2020 and August 2020 and be able to reside in person in the Bay Area during that time.
• Applicant(s) must have legal status to work and reside in the United States.

Applicants must have a passion for changing the world, and an interest in learning how technology and policy can work together to achieve change.

Students are eligible to apply, but please note that, due to the requirement for significant professional experience in technology, students without work experience are unlikely to be strong candidates for acceptance. 

BENEFITS

1. All fellows receive $18,000 for ten weeks in residence.

2. They also have limited funds available for travel stipends to and from the Bay Area.

OFFICIAL LINK: https://www.aspentechpolicyhub.org/fellowship/