Career story: How to make a career in tech policy

What does a day in your shoes feel like? And what are the key skills that can make or break a career in your field?

We have asked a diverse group of Apolitical members to share their career story with us and the tips they have for junior public servants. In this article, Dr Stefan Heumann explains why experience from both inside and outside the tech bubble can boost your career prospects.

What is your role and how do you spend your time on a standard workday?

I direct a non-profit think tank (20 staff) working at the intersection of technology and public policy. We have developed a method of collaborative policy analysis and development. Our organisation brings together experts from government, academia, the tech sector and civil society to test our ideas and work together on solutions.

It has been amazing to see what you can achieve by bringing diverse expertise into one room to work on challenging problems.

I serve as a mentor to our programme leaders (on cybersecurity, data economy, AI, disinformation, digital rights) and help them with programme strategy and fundraising. The other half of my time I spend on my own projects, such as my service in the German parliament's expert committee on AI as well as institutional fundraising and administrative duties.

In your opinion, what are the most important skills someone needs to excel in your field?

It's a combination of skills that are crucial in my field of tech policy:

• Networking: having the ability to build trust and relationships across very different sectors (NGOs, start-ups, tech companies, government, academia).
• Eagerness to learn: tech is very dynamic and you have to constantly educate yourself on the newest trends and challenge your own assumptions.
• Analytic skills: having the ability to draw from multiple sources of knowledge and figure out what matters.
• Communications: translate what you learn into plain language that non-experts/politicians can understand and work with.

What is your favourite part of your job? What would you change if you could wave a magic wand?

My favourite part of the job is to observe the power of collaboration. It has been amazing to see what you can achieve by bringing diverse expertise into one room to work on challenging problems. The most gratifying experience is when you see that the outcome of your work really helps move public debates or government decision-making forward.

If I could wave a magic wand, I would like to reduce administrative duties such as finance planning or fundraising, even though I have great support from within our organisation on these tasks. I just wish that some days had more hours so that I could be more engaged in the work of our different projects.

What advice would you give to young public servants who are interested in a career in your field?

Experience in government is crucial for tech policy. It is important to get out of your office and tap into expertise not just in the tech sector but also civil society and academia. Otherwise, it will be hard to see through the tech bubble. Non-commercial perspectives are a very important corrective perspective to all the hype.

You can find me on Twitter (@St_Heumann) or on LinkedIn, or just email me.

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