Apply now for the EU Tech Policy Fellowship 2023

By Jan-Willem, Cillian_, Training for Good, SteveThompson @ 2022-11-11T06:16 (+64)

Announcing the EU Tech Policy Fellowship 2023, an 8-month programme to catapult ambitious graduates into high-impact career paths in EU policy, mainly working on the topic of AI Governance.

Summary 

Training for Good is excited to announce the second edition of the EU Tech Policy Fellowship. This programme enables promising EU citizens to launch careers focused on regulating high-priority emerging technologies, mainly AI.  Apply here by December 11th.

This fellowship consists of three components:

• Remote study group (July - August, 4 hours a week): A 6 week part-time study group covering AI governance & technology policy fundamentals.
• 2 x Policy training in Brussels (June 26-30 and September 3 - 8  exact date TBC): Two intensive week-long bootcamps in Brussels featuring workshops, guest lectures from relevant experts and networking events.
• Fellows will then participate in one of two tracks depending on their interests.
  • Track 1 (September - February full time): Fellows will be matched with a host organisation working on European tech regulation for a ~5 month placement between September 2023 and February 2024.
    • Host organisations include The Future Society, Centre for European Policy Studies, and German Marshall Fund (among others).
  • Track 2 (September): Fellows will receive job application support and guidance to pursue a career in the European Commission, party politics or related policy jobs in Europe. 
    • This may include career workshops, feedback on CVs, interview training and mentorship from experienced policy professionals.

Other important points:

• If you have any questions or would like to learn more about the program and whether or not it’s the right fit for you, Training for Good will be hosting an informal information session on Thursday November 24 (5.30pm CET), please subscribe here for that session.
• This fellowship is only open to EU citizens.
• Modest stipends are available to cover living and relocation costs. We expect most stipends to be between €1,750 and €2,250 per month 
  • For track 1, stipends are available for up to 6 months while participating in placements.
  • For track 2, stipends are available for up to 1 month while exploring and applying for policy roles.

Apply here by December 11th.

The Programme

The programme spans a maximum of 8 months from June 2023 to February 2024, is fully cost-covered, and where needed, participants can avail of stipends to cover living costs. It consists of 4 major parts:

• Policy training in Brussels (June 26-30, dates TBC): An intensive week-long bootcamp in Brussels featuring workshops, guest lectures from relevant experts and networking events.
  • Main focus: Understanding Brussels bubble (including networking) and creating your own goals for the Fellowship
  • All accomodation, food & travel costs will be fully covered by Training for Good
• Remote study group (July - August): A 7 week study group covering AI governance & technology policy fundamentals. Every week consists of ~4 hours of readings, a 1 hour discussion and a guest lecture.
• Policy training in Brussels (September 3-8, dates TBC): An intensive week-long bootcamp in Brussels featuring workshops, guest lectures from relevant experts and networking events.
  • The goal of this week is to come up with a policy proposal, inspired by the latest insights from governance research covered in the 7 week reading group.
  • All accomodation, food & travel costs will be fully covered by Training for Good
• Fellows will then participate in one of two tracks depending on their interests.
  • Track 1 (September - February): Fellows will be matched with a host organisation working on European tech regulation for a ~5 month placement between September 2023 and February 2024.
    • Host organisations include The Future Society, Centre for European Policy Studies, and German Marshall Fund (among others)
    • Modest stipends are available to fellows during these placements to cover living and relocation costs for up to 6 months.
  • Track 2 (September): Fellows will receive job application support and guidance to pursue a career in the European Commission, party politics or related policy jobs in Europe. 
    • This may include career workshops, feedback on CVs, interview training and mentorship from experienced policy professionals.
    • Modest stipends are available to fellows during this period to explore and apply for policy roles for up to 1 month.

 Who should apply

Ideal candidates for this fellowship have:

• Ambition for maximal impact. A commitment to reducing some of the worst risks facing humanity and improving the world by maximising one’s expected career impact 
• ​Passion for technology, specifically AI. Our fellows live and breathe technology and its importance to our society. They have previous experience, education or a deep interest in AI or related emerging technologies
• Grit. The ability to doggedly pursue their goals and persevere against resistance, reticence and apathy. Our Fellows are willing to work hard and be patient yet proactive in their pursuit of policy change
• ​The ability to deal with high-pressure. Brussels can be hectic with short policy research timelines and narrow policy windows. Our fellows need to strive in such an environment, especially those interested in the more political work.

This fellowship is only open to EU citizens with at least a bachelor / undergraduate degree (on September 1, 2023). If you’re interested in similar US-focused programmes, we recommend the Open Philanthropy Technology Policy Fellowship or other US-focused policy fellowships.

Our Aims

This programme aims to help talented ambitious, altruistic individuals to play an important role in shaping European AI/Tech policy and to gain a headstart in their career. They will leave the programme with:

• Increased exposure and a better network in EU Tech Policy
• Increased knowledge of the most important aspects of AI Governance
• An understanding of the regulatory landscape in Brussels
• Improved policy writing, networking and other soft skills
• Either career capital (for example, having spent 5 months interning at a relevant institution) or completed applications for relevant positions within the EU institutions
• A valuable addition to their CV/Resume

After finishing the programs we expect fellows to be capable of having a positive impact in the EU AI Policy space. Some main paths to impact we currently foresee:

• Work on technical standards following the AI Act (ongoing process, expected to last until spring 2025)
• Work on international cooperation on certain measures, e.g. on the topic of compute governance / export controls
• Work on enforcement of the AI Act, a prerequisite for a Brussels Effect to come into existence
• Influencing the tail of the EU AI Act process and building career capital to influence future EU AI/tech regulation, e.g. an expected future revision of the AI Act 

Our Rationale for running this program

• We believe that technologies developed this century, especially artificial intelligence, could pose a large risk to people’s welfare or potentially a global catastrophic riskto humanity. Governments have an important role to play in managing the long-term societal impacts of these technologies. We believe that EU policy could be a particularly important lever in positively shaping the trajectory of these technologies which many in the AI safety community are neglecting. Thus, we are excited to support aspiring EU policy professionals interested in working in this area.
• We are (non-exclusively) targeting soon-to-be graduates and fresh graduates with backgrounds in either policy or tech with a view towards placing them into particularly focused paths to impactful careers.
• We believe that gaining exposure and a relevant network is key to building career capital and influence over time. “Breaking in” is challenging—but once in, individuals can positively influence upcoming European tech policy.
• By helping applicants at this first inflection point, we believe we may be able to significantly alter their counterfactual impact over time.
• Many great EA candidates don’t apply for tech policy roles simply because they lack the application skills, network or the confidence.
• Testing out, in a robust way, whether or not candidates are a good fit for various roles in policy is valuable to their decision making processes.
• By providing stipends, we are sponsoring individuals to explore valuable career paths that they otherwise could not afford to take time off for.

Apply Now

To apply for European Technology Policy Fellowship, please fill out this application form by 11th December.

The application process should last until the beginning of March and includes:

• An application form (deadline December 11th)
• A round with smaller test tasks
• A 2 hour test task and personality test
• A 30-60 minute interview with Training for Good and your host organisation .

If you are unsure whether you should apply

• Please book a career chat with us here.
• Attend our informal information session on November 24 at 5.30pm CET. Please subscribe here

Please contact janwillem@trainingforgood.com with any questions.

We are thankful to the EA Infrastructure Fund  for their generous support of the 2023 EU Tech Policy Fellowship.