The new academic year has begun and the Florence STG at the EUI has officially welcomed its eighth cohort of Policy Leader Fellows. This year, 20 fellows have been awarded the five-or ten-month fellowships, starting in either September or February.
To date, the programme has supported 161 fellows, with 53% being women. The fellows hail from a diverse range of countries, including China, Brazil, Iceland, and South Africa, reflecting the programme's openness to applicants from around the world, regardless of nationality or age. Their projects cover critical topics such as the potential of collaborative leadership, the policy role of governments in facilitating effective transformations to net-zero emissions, locally led adaptation, and addressing gender economic gaps through public care policies.
Reflecting on his experience, Alexander Borum fellow in 23/24 shared, "The Policy Leader Fellowship has been a unique opportunity to step out of a hectic career and refocus on the core of the subject matter, how I design and improve policy design and its impact. It has been a chance to reflect on longstanding approaches critically push the state of the art, and grow professionally and as a person.."
Now in its eighth consecutive year, this programme is the longest-running at the Florence STG. It aims to provide mid-career policy practitioners, from the fields of politics, civil service, media, non-governmental organisations and others - with at least 10 years of professional experience - the opportunity to enhance their skills in their field of expertise as well as discover new topics and areas of work.
During their fellowship, our Policy Leader Fellows engage in teaching sessions, workshops, and tailored skills development activities. They also have the opportunity to teach master's students sharing their own experience from the world of practice, participate in the school's mentoring programme and take part in skills development courses. They support the professors in various research projects and regularly host the STG Talks, which have become a cornerstone of the STG's academic programme, where they discuss topics from their areas of expertise. The STG Talks, play a pivotal role in fostering intellectual exchange and collaboration among the PLF cohort and the broader STG community. These discussions, featuring renowned experts, faculty members, students, and the PLF fellows themselves, offer a unique opportunity to explore pressing global challenges and potential solutions.
Evgenia Markvardt, PLF Programme Coordinator, explains the importance of this platform: "The STG talks are a weekly appointment to discuss, debate and co-create new policy ideas by combining the on-the-ground experience that the Policy Fellows bring with the latest research conducted at the institute. The diversity of fellows' perspectives in terms of policymaking areas and geographic origin together with the insights from our research community create a unique opportunity to develop effective global policy solutions."
By participating in the STG Talks, the new PLF cohort will have the opportunity to engage with leading thinkers, network with peers, and contribute to cutting-edge research. Their contributions have enriched, and will continue to enrich, discussions and foster an inclusive environment for exploring 21st-century policymaking challenges. Find the calendar of the STG talks here.
Register for the STG Talks of your choice in this upcoming series beginning Thursday, 24 October, with Policy Leader Fellow Sofia Veliz on ‘Who Cares? Caregiving as a Global Issue, Not Just a Personal Burden’.
Meet our new fellows and take part in leading policy discussions on today’s global issues.