Designing policy for a global impact

GPS new webinar series reaches across continents to engage audiences far beyond the shores of San Diego

April 23, 2019 | By Rachel Hommel | GPS News

Making an impact on policy choices is what our faculty, students and alumni at the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS) do best.

In collaboration with UC San Diego Alumni and Graduate Division and in celebration of our 30th Anniversary, we launched a new webinar series to explore research on topics currently under discussion in the public domain.

Below is a recap of the series held to date and be sure to tune in for new webinars being planned.

GPS Tackles Maternal and Child Health in the Developing World (October)

Speakers: GPS Professors Joshua Graff Zivin and Gordon McCord; GPS alumna Emily Foecke Munden (CSIS Global Health Policy Center); and GPS student Carmen Sainz-Villalba

"I'm a big fan of intellectual promiscuity. You should try on a lot of different roles. See what gets you excited. You will know that's the place you want to invest." - Professor Joshua Graff Zivin

In this webinar, panelists showcased the school’s emerging areas of growth, offering examples of how much the school has grown thematically, from diversity of faculty to research interests as well as the new career opportunities open to alumni in the field.

What’s in store for Mexico? (November)

Speakers: GPS Professors Francisco Garfias and Rafael Fernández de Castro; GPS alumna Lila Petersen; and Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies fellow Tesalia Rizzo

“A leftist, López Obrador, was elected with almost 53 percent of the vote. It is unprecedented. In my opinion, he will be fighting four wars – wars against corruption, violence, poverty and finally against U.S. President Trump.” – Professor Rafael Fernández de Castro

In this webinar, GPS experts highlighted the key policy issues the upcoming administration in Mexico will face. They covered U.S.-Mexican relations, social policy, security and more.

Is the U.S. headed to a second civil war? (December)

Speakers: GPS Professors Jesse Driscoll, Stephan Haggard and Barbara Walter; and GPS student Nic Zinter

"We are starting to see a different type of civil war emerging. We are starting to see civil wars started by armed factions and militias." - Professor Barbara Walter

In this webinar, GPS experts debated key policy issues including authoritarian states, the rise and fall of democracy, political violence and new definitions of civil wars.

Regulating Tomorrow’s Technologies: Impacts on Innovation (January)

Speakers: Elizabeth Lyons, GPS Professor (moderator); Robert Friedman, GPS Professor of Practice; Karcher Morris, Jacobs School of Engineering Ph.D. student and GPS Science Policy Fellow; and Stayce Beck ’06, Vice President, Clinical and Strategic Partnerships, Dexcom

"When does soft law become hard law? 3-D printing has a lot of overlaps with biotech. Legislation is very general. It has to apply to everything. This area is rapidly changing.” - Stayce Beck '06

In this webinar, panelists discussed key policy issues around advancements in 3D printing and Artificial Intelligence as well as impacts of the FDA’s approach to medical device regulation.

Cushioning the Fall? Safety Net Programs’ Impact on Public Health (February)

Speakers: GPS Professors Craig McIntosh and Teevrat Garg; Bryn Sakagawa ’98, GPS alumna and director of the Office of Health, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Philippines; and Eddy Chebelyon ’18, GPS alumna and research associate, UC San Diego Rady School of Management

"Research shows that social safety net programs can help uncouple environmental stressors and long-term economic outcomes. " - Professor Teevrat Garg

In this webinar, experts reviewed the contradictory trends emerging in the area of social protection, including the deep complexities and importance of utilizing governance from the top down to assist in risk protection.

For more information, visit our webinar page here.