This summer I found myself at the center of global technology debates, working alongside international diplomats and fellow scholars at the United Nations Graduate Study Programme in Geneva. I had been selected from over 1,250 applicants to join 51 other students from 41 countries, for a two-week intensive seminar on international relations and multilateral diplomacy.
I was supported in my application for the U.N programme by my supervisor at the University of Bristol where I am studying for a master’s degree in Public Policy. My research focuses on e-governance and public-private partnerships in emerging economies. This work, combined with my fellowship at the African Center for Digital Transformation and my role as an AI Ethics fellow at Code for Africa, enabled me to leverage both my academic policy curriculum and practical fellowship experience. My policy analysis coursework proved invaluable as we examined various papers across countries and organizations to identify gaps and propose solutions. The programme became a natural extension of both experiences and aligned perfectly with my thesis.
The Programme Structure
For the duration of the two weeks, I was assigned to the Global Governance of Emerging Technologies working group, where I worked directly with the UN Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies (ODET). We addressed governance gaps across emerging technologies, including quantum computing, gene editing, brain-computer interfaces, carbon capture, and longevity extension technologies. These technologies all have the potential to profoundly transform our society while advancing at such a rapid pace that effective regulation becomes challenging. We need to establish regulatory frameworks without stifling innovation, which led us to tackle the fundamental question of how the UN ODET should approach regulating such technologies when they advance faster than governments can keep pace—and whether it should play any role at all.
I also attended sessions of the AI for Good Global Summit which happened in the second week with aims to identify practical applications of artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
The programme was intense. We spent early mornings with UN officials learning how different departments operate, followed by afternoons in working groups investigating our main policy mandate. You can view our recommendations for the UN on governing emerging technologies in this report.
The diversity of the cohort was extraordinary. Having that many different perspectives in one room completely changes how you approach global problems. You could feel the weight of different experiences every time someone spoke.
You’ll have seen the headlines about UN resolutions on Gaza being voted down in late 2024, or about the deadlock over Ukraine with Russia casting vetoes. Sitting in the same rooms where global treaties get negotiated, it was insightful to see how those actually come together in practice, with behind-the-scenes negotiations, compromises, and balancing of competing interests that define multilateral diplomacy.
In academic settings, we often debate ideal policy solutions, but watching how these decisions play out in practice, with real political and economic constraints, gives you a nuanced understanding of what effective governance looks like in the real world. International policy moves slowly – for good reasons, maybe. When you’re making rules for 193 countries, you can’t move fast and break things. You also can’t afford to be slow. It creates a real dilemma.
The conversations. The debates. The infectious curiosity that had us questioning assumptions we didn’t even know we had. The human moments of laughter, tears, vulnerability, and shared exhaustion made these two weeks unforgettable and worthwhile.
The relationships I built there are as valuable as, if not more, than the learning. We’re all going to be working in this space for years to come, and having those connections across different countries and disciplines will be crucial for addressing global challenges.
What I’m taking forward
I am now finalising my dissertation, building on the learning and network I developed to support the process. I had the opportunity to interview people directly relevant to my research, which adds immense value as what I observed at the UN brings practical depth to the theoretical framework. The programme provided insights you can’t get online – only by talking to people in these organizations and others with real experience.
Academic research only matters to the extent it can be used in real work. We can write papers about digital governance, but if we don’t know how the findings get implemented in the real world – if we can’t bridge that gap between theory and practice – those papers end up as someone’s references, not real solutions.
In a global context, good regulation comes down to getting different communities and nations with their competing interests and ideological frameworks to work together. In tech, this also means ensuring that technological progress doesn’t just serve those building these systems.
For Future Applicants
Apply for things that seem too competitive. We learn through rejections. As Wayne Gretzky famously said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
Don’t underestimate what you bring to global conversations. People from different backgrounds create a mix of knowledge that’s valuable.
Climate change, artificial intelligence, global inequality – these problems don’t respect borders. Solving them requires people from diverse backgrounds working together. It’s not enough to be smart or have good ideas. We need to understand how international cooperation actually works. We need to build relationships across cultures and disciplines.
Adamou is completing his MSc in Public Policy at the University of Bristol. The UN Graduate Study Programme is held annually in Geneva for selected graduate students worldwide.
The Graduate Study Programme (GSP) at UN Geneva is the longest-running educational initiative of the United Nations. Over the past 63 years, almost 3,500 young people from more than 120 countries have successfully completed the Programme. This intensive two-week summer seminar provides an opportunity for participants to deepen their understanding of the United Nations and “International Geneva” through lectures, research, work in groups, visits to institutions, and networking.