Preparing Students for Impact

In the fall, Harvard Kennedy School students and Belfer student fellows Bo Julie Crowley and Raina Davis represented the Belfer Center’s Defending Digital Democracy Project at a London conference on disinformation. Inspired, they joined with Casey Corcoran, another Belfer International and Global Affairs Student Fellow, and submitted a proposal to the Center to do a study of disinformation in Taiwan and South Korea, both of which have a long legacy of disinformation. With Center support, they spent January interviewing Taiwanese and South Korean officials and are completing a report to be published this spring.

Encouraging student research initiatives is one of many ways the Belfer Center helps prepare the next generation of leaders in science and international affairs, an essential component of the Belfer Center’s mission. Central to those future leaders are Kennedy School students as well as pre-and post-doctoral research fellows.

A number of Center programs and projects provide research opportunities for students both in the U.S. and abroad. This fall, for example, students traveled with Arctic Initiative staff and faculty to Iceland to participate in the Arctic Circle Assembly. These Arctic Innovators proposed new ideas for tackling critical climate issues faced by Arctic nations.

Students working with the Defending Digital Democracy Project (D3P) interface directly with state and local election leaders, most recently at a conference hosted by D3P with over 50 election officials and government leaders discussing takeaways from the 2018 midterms. In addition, a team of current D3P students and alumni hosted a tabletop exercise (TTX) this fall at the RSA Conference in San Francisco for cybersecurity professionals.

The Center’s Middle East Initiative (MEI) provides opportunities throughout the year for students to deeply engage with pressing policy issues in the MENA region and shape their future policy careers. This past January term, MEI awarded funding to seven students for internships or research related to their academic focus on the region. These students will produce policy briefs and recommendations for leading institutions, contributing to a growing body of research that informs public policy in the region. In addition, MEI supported two for-credit field study courses and a policy field visit, sending a total of 63 students and fellows to the Middle East in January. (See more on page 16.)

The Center’s newest initiative is Belfer Policy Chats, a series of gatherings that enable students to join Center research fellows in chats about issues at the forefront of global policy. The aim is to provide a forum to engage informally on a range of critical topics. A recent chat included Middle East Initiative/Cyber Project fellow James Shires, digital HKS Associate Director Vanessa Rhinesmith, and Center Executive Director Aditi Kumar in a discussion titled “Can we write Human Rights into the Internet?”

The Center supports the Women in Defense, Diplomacy and Development (W3D) student group in events like their new series The Future (of Foreign Affairs) is Female and the Female Faculty Lunch Series. Among recent guests and speakers: Sen. Claire McCaskill, former Democratic U.S. Senator (Missouri), and Meghan O’Sullivan, Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at the Kennedy School.

The Center also hosts For the Common Defense, a weekly speaker series, and co-hosts various activities with The Future Society and the Black Student Union.

Other Opportunities for Students

Belfer IGA Student Fellows:  Each year, 10-15 Belfer International and Global Affairs student fellows are selected from among a number of HKS applicants. These student fellows receive research funding and are paired with a Center program or project where they observe and participate in policy research and work directly with leading faculty and researchers.

Career Talks: Several times each semester, the Belfer Center invites students and fellows to meet informally with visiting current or former government and other officials to discuss career questions.

Funding Support: The Center encourages proposals from students and student organizations for research, publications, and events related to the Center’s core interests.

Research and Internships: A full list of programs and projects that offer internships and research opportunities is available at belfercenter.org/students.