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Protocol's Policy Research Program

Protocol's Policy Research Program is a 10 week program that offers university students and recent graduates an opportunity to research at the cutting edge of technology and policy. 

About the Policy Research Program

The Policy Research Program (PRP) is a semester-long extracurricular program that brings university students together into small, interdisciplinary Working Groups to conduct in-depth research on a current issue in Australian technology policy.​

 

You’ll collaborate with students from diverse academic backgrounds to explore your chosen topic and develop a high-quality publication. This may take the form of a policy paper, government submission, think piece, or open letter. 

 

Throughout the semester, you’ll receive structured guidance on research and policy writing, alongside mentorship and feedback from Protocol’s Editorial Board.

 

At the conclusion of the program, Protocol will publish your work, and you’ll have the opportunity to present your research at the Protocol Symposium and explore pathways for future advocacy.​

Eligibility

The Program is open to current university students and recent graduates from all disciplines including law, public policy, political science, international relations, computer science, engineering, IT, mathematics, and related fields.


We encourage applications from young people who may not see themselves as “policy people” yet - the PRP is designed to help you become one. All you need is an interest in technology and its societal impacts.

Semester One
Program
Key Dates

9 FEB 2026

Applications Open (rolling applications)

3 MARCH 2026

Applications Close

9 MARCH 2026

Policy Research Program Commences 

29 MAY 2026

Protocol Symposium

29 MAY 2026

Policy Research Program Concludes

Contact Us for More Information

Working Group Topics

AI in the Public Sector

Our Public Sector Working Group will explore how governments worldwide deploy AI in public services, comparing strategies and governance frameworks from jurisdictions around the world to inform best-practice policy design for Australia’s future public sector.

Big Tech's Attitude Towards AI Safety

Our AI Safety Working Group will track the historical development of Big Tech’s publicly expressed attitudes towards AI Safety using the Internet Archive Wayback Machine in order to understand how these attitudes have changed over time and differ between the companies.

Truth in Political Advertising

Our Political Advertising Working Group will conduct a comprehensive review of available studies to identify the trends in AI technology use in the context of political campaigns and the associated risks to inform an open letter to Parliament.

Australia's Response to the National AI Plan

Our AI Plan Working Group will undertake a comprehensive analysis of the public responses to Australia’s National AI Plan across media, academia, and social platforms to assess public sentiment and its policy significance in the six months following release.

Energy and Water Footprint of LLM Inference

Our ESG Working Group will conduct a comparative analysis of the energy and water consumption of major Large Language Models (LLMs) to provide a factual baseline for corporate ESG reporting and government sustainability policy.

Data Sharing within the Government

Our Data Sharing Working Group will conduct an investigation into what kind of data Australian government agencies share, which laws authorise it and what details are publicly disclosed.
 

Prevalence of Deep Fakes

Our Deepfakes Working Group will conduct a comprehensive investigation into the prevalence and risks of deepfake technology,  and any current, proposed or rejected regulations to control it at the state and federal level within Australia. 

AI in Healthcare

Our AI in Healthcare Working Group will conduct research to collect facts and statistics on the status of AI implementation in healthcare and identify impacts on Australia’s policy frameworks.
 

Spreading the Benefits of AI

Our Spreading the Benefits Working Group will examine initiatives around the world aimed at spreading the benefits of AI and ensuring this technological development does not further the digital divide to inform best-practice policy design for Australia’s own national strategy.

A Topic of Your Own Choice

We would love to hear what pressing issue within Australia's technology policy you would be interested in exploring, and we will do our best to facilitate this research. 
 
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Contact Us

Email

emma@protocolpolicylab.org

We would love to hear from you! 

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