If you are a student or know a student who would be interesting in technology policy, well then I have the opportunity for you…

Google just announced their second summer for the Google Policy Fellowship Program—to support students and organizations working on policy issues fundamental to the future of the Internet and its users. It’s a paid position ($7,000 for 10 weeks). Here’s the program overview from their web site:

Fellows will have the opportunity to work at public interest organizations at the forefront of debates on broadband and access policy, content regulation, copyright and trademark reform, consumer privacy, open government, and more. Participating organizations are based in either Washington, DC, San Francisco, CA , Ottawa or Toronto, Canada and include: American Library Association, Cato Institute, Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic, Center for Democracy and Technology, Citizen Lab, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Creative Commons, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Future of Music Coalition, Internet Education Foundation, Media Access Project, New America Foundation, Progress and Freedom Foundation, Public Knowledge, and Technology Policy Institute. More information about the host organizations and the areas of focus for the fellows are outlined here.

Fellows will be assigned a lead mentor at their host organizations, but will have the opportunity to work with several senior staff members over the course of the summer. Fellows will be expected to make substantive contributions to the work of their organization, including conducting policy research and analysis; drafting reports and analyses; attending government and industry meetings and conferences; and participating in other advocacy activities.

I hope that they get some applications from rural areas because I think the perspective is a little different in rural areas and having fellows with a rural background might inform policy. Also I think training some policy experts and bringing them back home to rural areas would be a big boon for the areas.

The deadline to apply is December 12, 2008. Good luck! I’d nearly consider another graduate degree if being a student would get me in the door there.