The Technology Governance Policy Challenge is a two-day event where graduate students 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 policy briefs to a distinguished panel of judges comprising industry experts, government representatives, and faculty members.
The Technology Governance 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, originally launched as a pilot program in 2024, 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.
The 2026 Challenge, “Green Technologies for Climate Mitigation, Adaptation and/or Intervention”, was double the size of the 2025 Challenge, and added new schools including the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, the Norman Patterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University, Sciences Po in France, the University of Warwick in the UK, and Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico.
Previous Challenges
2025 "Emerging Technology and Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration," included graduate student teams from American University’s School of International Service, New York University, IE Madrid in Spain, and University of the Western Cape in South Africa.
2024 “Technology and Foreign Interference in Elections” with American University’s School of International Service (pilot program)
Anthologies
The policy briefs from the 2025 and 2026 competitions have been published as anthologies.
Partner Organization
The Balsillie School is pleased to partner with American University’s School of International Service, 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.
