The Policy Fellowship program at the Digital Ethics Center (DEC) offers an exciting opportunity for policy makers, lawmakers, regulatory professionals, and other governance practitioners to engage in cutting-edge research on digital ethics and AI policy. The program is designed to support professionals at different stages of their career, bridging the gap between policy development while still fostering a shared mission of advancing digital ethics scholarship.
Program Structure
Each fellow will complete a semester-long research paper and participate in a “semester-in-residency” Center visit.
To foster a true residency atmosphere, fellows are expected to be on-site at the Center in New Haven as regularly as possible for one semester (For example, Fall Semester: September 1st to December 2026). This is a non-stipendiary fellowship with institutional affiliation and access to the Digital Ethics Center (DEC) and Yale resources. We can offer ground transportation reimbursements at the end of the semester depending on the proximity of the fellow to New Haven.
The time spent at the center will allow the fellow the opportunity to meet with the Center’s rich and interdisciplinary community–from the DEC Research team, Yale students, affiliated Yale faculty and colleagues across departments and schools. This time at the Center will allow the fellows to discuss current topics in digital ethics and exchange feedback on their research projects. The goal is for each fellow to research, write, and revise a collaborative paper of publishable quality by the end of the semester, on a topic relevant to the activities of the Center, with the support of Professor Floridi and, if applicable, in collaboration with other researchers. The fellowship may complement the work that practitioner is already doing full-time or may be independent of it.
The Policy Fellowship program is cross-sectoral and welcomes leaders from across the policy landscape in the public and private sector, including government, regulatory bodies, international organizations, and civil society. The only requirement is a demonstrated track record of leadership in shaping, researching, or implementing the governance, ethical, legal, and social implications (GELSI) of digital innovation.