A couple of UWindsor organizations are teaming up to lead a free online workshop about hosting policythons. Scheduled for 1 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 16, the presentation is part of the 2023 Human Development and Capability Association’s Global Dialogue Week.

STEMx Policy and UWill Discover hope that faculty, staff, and students will sign up and help build ideas for the next STEMx Policython to be held at the 2024 UWill Discover Sustainable Futures conference.

Policythons see student participants attend to complex societal challenges while proposing solutions in the form of policy briefs. Through the event, top presentations get shared with practitioners and industry professionals.

“Policythons are a short-term commitment empowering students to learn policymaking and networking among peers, practitioners, and researchers,” says biomedical sciences student Deya’a Almasri, co-lead of STEMx Policy.

The Global Dialogue Week is a free online event open to everyone featuring parallel sessions and webinars with academics, leaders, and practitioners in human development, and globally diverse voices. Like STEMx policy and UWill Discover, the week centres discussion of pressing global challenges and emerging issues in human-centered development.

“I’m delighted to see STEMx presenting at the Global Dialogues because they have the opportunity to meet practitioners and researchers who influence policy in hundreds of countries around the world,” says Tim Brunet, Canadian co-ordinator for the association’s North American network.

During the Nov. 16 workshop, participants will use previous STEMx experiences to propose new and exciting case studies for future policythons. Sign up today on the Human Development and Capability Association’s website.