The Institute for Technology and Civic Leadership will officially launch April 2-3 with a two-day symposium exploring how to best prepare current and future leaders to engage with the most pressing issues shaping society today and in the future. The symposium will explore how best to position Georgia Tech research to inform these debates.

On April 2, the event will feature a keynote dialogue at 10 a.m. in the Scholars Event Theater (Price Gilbert 1280) with Robert George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, and Cornel West, Dietrich Bonhoeffer Chair at Union Theological Seminary, followed by panel discussions designed to provide perspectives from a range of peer institutions. George and West are the authors of Truth Matters: A Dialogue on Fruitful Disagreement in an Age of Division.

Other topics will include: informing public debate and leading at the intersection of technology and policy, and engaging students and faculty successfully in civic leadership and technology policy initiatives. 

On April 3, the event will feature a panel of Georgia Tech leaders sharing their perspectives, followed by breakout sessions designed for Georgia Tech community members to share their feedback.

Explore the symposium agenda and register to attend a portion or all of the symposium.

The Institute for Technology and Civic Leadership reflects Georgia Tech’s commitment to educating leaders who create new possibilities at the intersection of technology and human flourishing and exploring ways for Georgia Tech scholarship and research to inform pressing societal issues and opportunities. It will draw on rigorous research to develop and support civic-minded, technological leaders and policy-aware innovators, equipping them to lead in a pluralistic democracy and an interconnected, innovation-driven world. 

The new Institute will give students the chance to explore a broad range of ideas about how innovation shapes communities, the economy, and public life. It aims to be a place where people can exchange ideas freely, learn from one another and find common ground — all anchored in open debate, scientific inquiry and evidence-based problem-solving. 

It will also serve as a hub for bringing together leaders from government, industry, academia and other sectors to tackle pressing challenges and pursue science- and data-driven solutions.