Learn about the student experience in the University of Michigan's unique graduate certificate program in Science, Technology, and Public Policy (STPP), based at the Ford School of Public Policy.
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♪♪♪
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Alejandro:
I am a fifth year PhD student
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in the industrial
and operations engineering
department.
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I started focusing on logistics
and supply chains-
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seeing how things got moved in a supply chain.
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But research doesn’t live in a
bubble.
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It has real-world impact.
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And I kinda wanted to study
that other part as well-
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kinda understand what is the
ramifications of the models
that I build,
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to the people and society.
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♪♪♪
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JOY: Our students come from
almost every unit in the
university.
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They are graduate students who
are interested in and care about
the relationship
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between science, technology,
and public benefit.
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♪♪
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STEPHANIE: I’m a third year in
the neuroscience
graduate program.
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But I wanted hands on training
in policy
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from people who study policy.
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Um, and that was really
unique to Michigan.
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To be able to take classes at
Ford is pretty cool.
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I didn’t have that opportunity
at other schools.
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SHOBITA: Students realize,
especially today, how important
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science, technology, and science
and technology policy are,
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and they want to be trained
to make better policy
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that benefits society and
serves the public interest
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and serves social justice goals.
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So our graduate certificate
program is essentially designed
to do those things.
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Policy can’t be created in
isolation just by experts.
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We need a wide array of voices
to create it.
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Everyone brings a unique
perspective,
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some that I would have never
even thought of,
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and I think that’s really the
value in STPP.
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♪♪
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SHOBITA: In the STPP program,
students learn how
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values, politics, and policy
shape science and technology.
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They are trained in how to
write for policy audiences,
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and how to also speak to
policy audiences.
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ROBERT: There’s a great need
now for the people with this
kind of expertise.
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We’re just trying to create a
bigger lane for people to
drive down
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as they move into this
type of work.
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♪♪
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JOY: Our students go out into
the world after completing
their certificates.
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They are working in the
offices of congressional
representatives,
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They are working in Washington.
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SCOTT: I want to work at the
intersection of technology
policy;
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where I am able to do the
important analysis,
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and then come up with those
strategic policy
recommendations.
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ALEJANDRO:
What I know for sure is that
I want to be able to be
in a position
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where my work can have
direct impact onto society,
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and I think that connection
with public policy
is the right path.
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STEPHANIE: Because of STPP
I have a whole other skill set
that I can tap into.
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I hope to always use policy
in advocacy, specifically.
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Especially for patients,
or for research, for funding,
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for everything related
to science.
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I know that I’ll always have
policy as part of my career.