Fatou Bah, master’s student in the ScholCommLab, attended the 2023 Bromley Memorial event in Washington, D.C. alongside invited graduate students from the University of Ottawa (UOttawa).
Organized by the UOttawa Institute for Science, Society & Policy (ISSP) and the George Washington University Institute for International Science & Technology Policy (IISTP), the Bromley Memorial event provides an opportunity for graduate students to discuss and exchange ideas with senior science and technology policy advisors from various countries, sectors, and levels of government.
In this post, Fatou reflects on how the event impacted her personal and professional development.
Attending the Bromley Memorial Event with students from UOttawa and George Washington University was an incredibly enriching experience. We got the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with science and technology policy advisors from NASA, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the Canadian Embassy in Washington D.C.
Our visit to the Canadian Embassy was the most impactful part of the trip. We got the chance to visit the beautiful Embassy building, filled with art from various Canadian artists, showcasing the diversity in our country and highlighting Indigenous art and artists.
Through our meeting with senior Embassy officials, I learned about the field of science diplomacy which combines both my interests in science policy and diplomacy. I see myself pursuing a career in science diplomacy, more specifically in open science policy, to provide equitable access to science to all. We were also briefed on an upcoming treaty that would facilitate collaboration between researchers in the U.S and Canada. Through this treaty, I hope to collaborate with fellow researchers in the fields of open science and critical disability studies.
The keynote by Dr. Bhavya Lal (Associate Administrator for Technology, Policy and Strategy at NASA) provided fascinating insight into NASA’s Artemis campaign. I gained knowledge of the policy implications for large projects requiring collaboration from several countries, such as the International Space Station, and collaboration with private industries, such as the creation of human landing systems. I look forward to learning more about the research being done on human space travel, and how it may intersect with my own research interests.
I hope to participate in future Bromley lectures, to continue exchanging ideas with like-minded students and science policy advisors.
This post was featured in the ISSP blog by Geneviève Dunn.
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