The Eben Tisdale Fellowship offers outstanding opportunities for students to learn about high tech public policy issues with hands-on experience in Washington, D.C.

The Fellowship has two components: a full-time 8 week public policy internship with a high-tech company, firm or trade association, and weekly issues seminar lunches hosted by Tisdale sponsors. The Fellowship offers a $5,000 grant to students who are accepted.

The first of its kind, the Eben Tisdale Fellowship brings eligible students to Washington, D.C. for internships that explore current public policy issues of critical importance to the high technology sector of the economy. The Fellowship has two main elements:

1) Internships

One principal feature of the Fellowship is an eight-week internship in the government relations office of a leading high technology company or association, or with a lobbying firm.

While sponsoring companies will vary from year to year, the Fellowship makes every effort to retain high quality internship opportunities. Fellows have an opportunity to observe first hand the development and advocacy of public policy issues in Congress, the Administration and industry associations and to participate in projects of their own, focusing on current critical issues.

2) Issues Seminar

The other main element of the fellowship is a weekly issues seminar organized with the assistance of the sponsoring companies, firms and associations. Expert speakers lead discussions of current public policy issues in Washington and the methods the high technology industry uses for effective advocacy.

Past topics include:
•      Global electronic commerce
•      Protection of privacy
•      Digital intellectual property protection
•      Biotechnology issues
•      Educational technology policy
•      Health Information Technology 
•      Dell Thurmond Woodard lecture on diversity and ethics

The seminars give Fellows an opportunity to reflect on the appropriate role industry advocacy can have on public policy making at the Federal level. Conducted over lunch, the seminars also provide a weekly venue for fellows to meet and compare notes on their experiences. Fellows also are encouraged, through a variety of events and discussions, to reflect on how growing high technology affects society, culture and the global economy.

The goal of the Fellowship is to create a supportive and collegial environment in which a new class of public policy professionals will be mentored to help ensure that the high-tech industry continues to have highly capable and well-trained individuals in both policy advocacy and senior management positions.