Apply to the Train the Trainer Short Courses

Our Train the Trainer short courses are paid, week-long virtual short courses to train experienced policy professionals to teach our methods for policy impact. We are hosting 2 virtual training courses with limited enrollment: Policy Impact (tentatively scheduled from May 15-19, 2023) and Writing and Communicating for Policy (tentatively scheduled from June 5-9, 2023).

Subject matter experts in science, technology, cybersecurity, or a related field with 3 or more years of policy experience and an interest in training others on how to have policy impact are encouraged to apply. Selected trainers will be paid a $2,000 honoraria for each program in which they enroll. The top graduates will also be invited to serve as future trainers in our teaching programs at a rate of $100/hr.

We hosted a webinar on March 1st giving an overview of the program and answering questions from potential applicants. You can view a recording of that webinar here.

This page is for use by invitation only. If you have not received an invitation to apply but would like to apply for the Train the Trainer short courses, please contact us at aspentechpolicyhub@aspeninstitute.org.

Eligibility

For the Train the Trainer short courses, we are looking for applicants with the following characteristics:

1 – Applicants should be subject matter experts in science, technology, cybersecurity, or a related field.

Hub programs focus on training STEM professionals to do policy. Therefore, we will give preferential admission to subject matter experts with experience in science, technology, cybersecurity, or a related field.

2 – Applicants should have at least 3 years of substantive policy experience in the United States.

Applicants should have had experience working on policy within government in the United States at the local, state or federal level, or should have substantial experience working on policy at a company or nonprofit. For instance, applicants might have worked on government affairs at a technology company, worked on policy at a think tank, or led policy within government; applicants might also have professional technology experience such as serving as a patent lawyer. Please note these are just illustrative examples; they are not intended to limit eligibility to these categories. Though we welcome candidates with international policy experience, we do expect applicants to have some experience working on policy within the United States.

3 – Applicants should be interested in training others on how to have policy impact, including potentially through working as a paid part-time policy trainer in our future programs.

Applicants should be passionate not only about policy and having policy impact, but also about helping others understand how to have policy impact. We hope to invite the top program participants to work part-time with the Hub as policy trainers after the completion of the course. Ideally, candidates should be interested in potentially working with the Hub to teach our theory of policy impact.

Applicants need to also meet the following eligibility requirements for the program:

Applicant(s) must be at least 21 years of age by the start of the program.
Applicant(s) must be fluent in English.
Applicant(s) must be able to make a full commitment to the virtual 1-week course and be available from 9am-2pm PT Monday-Friday for the duration of the course. Tentatively, the Policy Impact course is scheduled from May 15 to May 19, 2023, and the Writing and Communicating for Policy course is scheduled from June 5 to June 9, 2023.
Applicant(s) must have legal status to work and reside in the United States.

FAQ

We will update the following FAQs as we receive additional questions about our program. If your question is not answered here or in the materials above, please contact aspentechpolicyhub@aspeninstitute.org.

General

Why are you launching these short courses?

For each person admitted into our programs, we currently turn 10-20 others away. We are creating our Train the Trainer short courses to enable us to scale our training, teaching people not just how to have policy impact themselves, but how to teach our methods.

What short courses are you offering?

We will run 2 week-long courses: Policy Impact, and Writing and Communicating for Policy. Each course will have two parts: 1) student learning, in which trainers learn the material as students; and 2) teacher learning, in which trainers learn how to teach the materials.

In the Policy Impact course, trainers will learn how to teach participants a clear path to achieving policy impact through steps such as defining and researching policy problems, stakeholder mapping, scoping solutions, evaluating alternatives, building effective outputs for your stakeholders, and advocacy.

In the Writing and Communicating for Policy course, trainers will learn how to improve participants’ communication skills through sessions such as translating technical concepts to plain language, writing for policy, argumentative writing, writing effective policy memos, writing a public comment, briefing stakeholders, public speaking, and media training.

Fellowship Logistics

What is the exact timing of the short courses?

Tentatively, the Policy Impact course is scheduled from May 15 to May 19, 2023, and the Writing and Communicating for Policy course is scheduled from June 5 to June 9, 2023.

Will this program be full-time or part-time?

Each Train the Trainer short course is part-time (9am-2pm PT, Monday through Friday) for 1 week.

Will this program be run in person or remotely?

The program will be fully remote.

How much funding do accepted trainers receive?

Selected trainers will be paid a $2,000 honoraria for each program in which they enroll. The top graduates from each program will also be invited to serve as future trainers in our teaching programs at a rate of $100/hr.

Can I continue to work in my job during the training course?

The Hub Train the Trainer short courses are intensive, and the programming is similar to that required for a full time student, with classes from 9am-2pm PT Monday-Friday. We expect your full attention and attendance during those hours.

Application Process

I am on a visa. Am I eligible to apply to these programs?

It depends. Legal Permanent Residents are definitely eligible to apply to our short courses, as are those on visas that have no restrictions on where they can work. H-1Bs and other visas tied to employers may be more complex. Please contact us to discuss your situation (with the caveat that we are unable to give you immigration advice.) Please note that we are unable to sponsor visas for the short courses.

I am a student/recently graduated. Am I eligible to apply to these programs?

You are able to apply to the short courses so long as you are 21 and meet all the other criteria listed in the eligibility section, including 3 or more years of substantive policy experience and subject matter expertise in science, technology, cybersecurity, or a related field.

I would like to join your program to learn more about teaching policy impact, but I don’t have experience in science, technology, cybersecurity, or a related field. Can I still apply?

You are welcome to apply. This being said, given our subject matter focus, we may prioritize admitting candidates with experience in science, technology, cybersecurity, or a related field.

I did not do a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) degree. Am I still eligible to apply to this program?

Yes; we hope to accept a diversity of applicants in our programs, including those without formal university degrees in STEM fields. However, please make sure that you meet all the other criteria for the programs, including significant experience working in climate-related science or technology.

I do not have 3 years of policy experience. Am I still eligible to apply to this program?

Unfortunately, for the Train the Trainer short courses, we will only consider applicants with 3 or more years of policy experience. However, we offer other programs like our Fellowship and the Tech Executive Leadership Initiative that are geared towards policy novices. We also plan to launch a nonprofit and public interest fellowship this summer. We recommend signing up for our Listserv to stay up-to-date on when we will be recruiting for these programs.

What is the application timeline?

We tentatively plan to notify finalists in mid-March, and make decisions by the end of March following Zoom interviews.