The Technology Governance Policy Challenge is a two-day event for graduate students who compete to develop the best ideas in addressing longer-term governance challenges associated with new and emerging technology. Participating student teams draw inspiration from a real-world case study and present their proposals to a distinguished panel of judges comprising industry experts, government representatives, and faculty members.
The Technology Governance Policy Challenge is a two-day event for graduate students who compete to develop the best ideas in addressing longer-term governance challenges associated with new and emerging technology. Participating student teams draw inspiration from a real-world case study and present their proposals to a distinguished panel of judges comprising industry experts, government representatives, and faculty members.
In the fall of 2023, the BSIA launched a new, five-year Technology Governance Initiative. One of the components is an annual Technology Governance Policy Challenge for graduate students.
The Policy Challenge provides advanced training to future international affairs researchers and policy professionals who anticipate addressing the impacts and possibilities of advanced technologies in their policy area. The competition generates valuable analysis and creative ideas for governing the adoption of advanced technologies for managing migration; creates a community of practice composed of student-participants and experts from industry, government, and non-profit sector who serve as judges and coaches; and establishes a network of academic institutional partners composed of professional schools of international affairs and research centers committed to research and teaching related to the governance of emerging and advanced technologies.
In April 2024, the BSIA collaborated with the School of International Service at American University in Washington, DC, to host a small, successful pilot challenge in which five teams of graduate students from the two schools competed. The theme was “Technology and Foreign Interference in Elections.” Judges were drawn from academia, industry and the Government of Canada.
The 2025 Policy Challenge will be expanded to also include graduate student teams from New York University, Science Po IE Madrid, and University of the Western Cape, in addition to teams from American University and the BSIA. The judges will come from Canada, the United States and the European Union.
The theme of the 2025 Policy Challenge is:
“Emerging Technology for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.”
Each participating school will be asked to choose one of the 23 objectives from the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (Dec 2018), and prepare a policy brief and decision document outlining how emerging technologies could be used to advance the objective, with the aim of contributing to policy development in the lead up to the 2026 International Migration Review Forum.
What to Expect
February – teams at participating schools are formed
Mid-February – case study is sent to teams
Mid-February – mid-April –presentations are prepared
April 14 – initial presentations are made and feedback is given
April 15 – final presentations are made and winning teams are announced
How to Participate
Interested graduate students at American University, New York University, Science Po IE Madrid, University of the Western Cape, and the BSIA should contact their program advisors for more information.
Universities interested in participating in 2026 should contact Andrew Thompson, Program Manager at the BSIA at asthompson@balsillieschool.ca.
Partner Organizations
The 2025 Policy Challenge is co-organized by the BSIA, American University and the International Migration Research Centre.
American University’s School of International Service is a top 10 school of international affairs located in Washington, DC. The school and its research centers – including the Center for Security, Innovation, and New Technologies – produce transformational research and prepare more than 3,000 professional graduate and undergraduate students for global careers in government, nonprofits, and business.
The International Migration Research Centre is a research centre whose mandate is to serve as a focal point for debate, research, policy analysis and proposal development related to international migration and mobility at the global, national and regional scale.
