The Balsillie School was pleased to host the second annual Technology Governance Policy Challenge on April 14th and 15th. The Challenge is a flagship, interdisciplinary student competition that brings together current and aspiring professionals working at the intersection of emerging technology and international affairs. The theme this year was “Emerging Technology for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.”
Teams from the Balsillie School, the American University School of International Service (U.S.A.), New York University (U.S.A.), IE University (Spain), and the University of the Western Cape (South Africa) generated creative solutions to governance challenges posed by new and emerging technologies related to migration.
The teams presented to esteemed judges in the field of migration, Alexis Rogers, IOM; Antonietta Elia, Senior Legal Expert; and Pari Karem and Anna Schwarz from Reception House in Waterloo. The topics included open-source tools for climate displacement transparency; ethics-driven AI policy design; management of digital IDs; blockchain remittances; leveraging existing networks to safeguard remittances; refugee-centered platforms for credential recognition; grassroots innovation; predictive heat-mapping to counter smuggling; and regulatory standards for AI in migration.
Congratulations to Bruk Asmellash, Perfect Mazani, Oluwaseyi Agboola, Joseph Kanyayi and Prof. Mulugeta F. Dinbabo from the University of Western Cape for their winning policy brief, “Leveraging Emerging Technologies to Enhance Remittance Transfers to Zimbabwe”!
Congratulations to Frank Spathanas and Tyquaisha Dickerson from American University for their winning presentation, “Emerging Technology: Safeguarding Migrants’ Remittance Through the Scope of Innovation”!
The policy briefs will be published in an anthology by the BSIA ahead of the 2026 International Review Forum for the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.