Speaker Series

The HCTIA sponsors speakers throughout the year who represent the cutting edge in research, policymaking and on-the-ground initiatives that are at the crossroads of technology and international affairs.

2022-2023 | 2021 – 2022 | 2020 – 2021 | 2019 – 2020| 2018 – 2019 | 2017 – 2018 | 2016 – 2017 | 2015 – 2016 | 2014 – 2015 | 2013 – 2014  |  2012 – 2013  |  2011 – 2012  |  2010 – 2011  |  2009 – 2010  |  2008 – 2009

2022-2023

  • The 12th Annual Hitachi Center Research Colloquium
  • Career Opportunities in Public Interest Technology and International Affairs
  • The Future of Tech: Opportunities and Challenges in the Private Sector
  • Cyber Policy in a New Age India
  • Fletcher Reads the Newspaper: TikTok: To Block or Not Block? Untying the Complex Knot of Geopolitics, Culture & Technology
  • Defeating Disinformation: Advancing Inclusive Growth and Democracy through Global Digital Platforms
  • Scaling Next-Generation Energy Solutions: The Nuclear Approach
  • Toasting Women Who Tech with The Hitachi Center: Fireside Chat with Dr. Shikoh Gitau
  • Is Space Exploration Really For All?

2021 – 2022 

  • 10th Annual Hitachi Center Research Colloquium (March 22, 2022)
  • Reimagining Social Media with Ethan Zuckerman (September 29, 2021)
  • Improving Health through Digital Technologies with Steve Ollis & Netsanet Animut (April 23, 2021) 
  • Coded Bias Screening (October 15, 2021) 
  • Talk on Platform Livelihoods with Jonathan Donner (November 22, 2021)
  • 11th Annual Hitachi Center Research Colloquium (January 26, 2022) 
  • The Survival Nexus: Science, Technology, and International Affairs with Dr Charles Weiss (February 7, 2022)
  • The Geopolitics Behind Data Routing with Dr. Frederick Douzet (February 9, 2022)
  • Tech for Peace with the Murrow Center with Dr. Martin Wählisch (February 11, 2022) 
  • Big Tech vs. Democracy: The Future of Tech Governance at the Murrow Conference (February 18, 2022) 
  • Breached! Why Data Security Law Fails and How to Improve It with Dr. Woodrow Hartzog (March 2, 2022)
  • Digital Media and Democracy with Glenda M Gloria (April 8, 2022
  • New Technologies, New Digital Risks at the Political Risk Conference – (April 15, 2022)
  • 12th Annual Research Colloquium (November 3, 2022) 
  • Future of Tech: Opportunities and Challenges for Students Considering Careers in the Private Sector (November 9, 2022)
  • Career Opportunities in Public Interest Technology and International Affairs (November 10, 2022)

2020-2021

2019-2020

  • Gill Bennett OBE, Former Chief Historian, British Foreign Commonwealth Office, Disinformation in the Digital Ag
  • Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan, cofounders of Agentura.ru and authors of The Red Web: The Kremlin’s Wars on the Internet, Russian Internet Sovereignty
  • 8th Annual Research Colloquium
  • Greg Chen, Lead Policy, CGAP, Open Data and the Future of Banking
  • Christopher Calabia, Senior Advisor for Supervisory & Regulatory Policy, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Technology Policy and Financial Inclusion
  • Balkanization of the Internet: The Growing Popularity of the Chinese Firewall, Panel, The Future of Democracy in the Age of Disinformation: Innovating Policy Solutions for a Networked World
  • Jim Baker, Former General Counsel of the FBI, A Conversation on Cryptography

2018-2019

  • Vulnerability Disclosure, Panel in Protecting Civilian Institutions and Infrastructure from Cyber Operations Conference: Angela McKay, Susan Landau, and Christina Ayiotis
  • Eugenio Galdon, Technology & Telecom: A 3rd Revolution? (5G in Mexico)
  • Research Colloquium
  • Clint Watts
  • Social Media and Democracy Panel

2017-2018

  • Dr. Susan Landau Toasting Women Who Tech (Sep. 27, 2018)
  • Andrea Renda, College of Europe and Center for European Policy Studies, Digital Policy and Innovation in Europe (Oct. 6, 2018)
  • Farah Pandith (F95), US Dept. of State Special Representative to Muslim Communities (2009-2014), Is Technology the Answer to Defeating the Extremists? (Oct. 16, 2018)
  • Greg Chen, Head of Policy CGAP, India’s Stack (Oct. 27, 2018)
  • Hitachi Center Summer Research Grant Recipients, 7th Annual Hitachi Center Research Colloquium (Oct. 30, 2018)
  • Michael Tarazi, World Bank, Mobile Money (Nov. 9, 2018)
  • Laura Scanlon, Director, TEGA (Technology Enabled Girl Ambassadors) (Dec. 4, 2018)
  • Cathy O’Neil, author of Weapons of Math Destruction (Dec. 7, 2018)
  • Greta Bull, CEO, CGAP, Telecommunications Interoperability (Jan. 30, 2018)
  • Mexico Event: Marcela Torres, CEO and Founder, Hola <code>, Tech Skills for Returned Migrants (Mar 19, 2018)
  • Water in Humanitarian Emergencies: Technology Solutions Panel (Apr. 6, 2018)
  • Miranda Bogen, Upturn, Governing Automated Decisions (Apr. 12, 2018)
  • Alexander Kostura, ConsenSYS Labs, Blockchain and International Development (Apr. 23, 2018)

2016-2017

  • Rhiannan Price, Digital Globe, Intersection of satellite imagery, data and development
  • 6th Annual Hitachi Center Research Colloquium
  • Alec Ross, Industries of the Future
  • Nimit Sawhney and Jennifer Brody (F16), Voatz: Revolutionary mobile voting
  • Kwan Lin (F14), Rapid7, From Fletcher to Cybersecurity Data Science
    Faizan Diwan, Doability, Working in digital research and the development space
  • Colin Crowell, Twitter Vice President of Global Public Policy & Philanthropy, Twitter Diplomacy
  • Harvard, MIT & Tufts Student Hacking Teams, Hello world: International Development Hackathon 2017 Demonstrations

2015-2016

  • Carlos Lopez-Moctezuma, Director of Digital Financial Services at BBVA, Digital Financial Services (November 5, 2015)
  • Matthew Homer and Christine Martin, Digital Financial Services Team at USAID, USAID’s Approach to Digital Finance and Financial Inclusion (Flyer) (October 27, 2015)
  • Irene Wu, Senior Analyst at the US FCC, Forging Trust Communities: How Technology Changes Politics (Flyer) (October 12, 2015)

2014-2015

  • Hitachi Center Summer Research Grant Recipients, Research Colloquium (Oct. 27)
  • Emily Parker, author of Now I Know Who My Comrades Are: Voices from the Internet Underground (Nov. 4)
  • Dr. Matthias Scheutz, Tufts Department of Computer Science, The Transcendant Man and discussion (Nov. 13)
  • Frances Colon, Deputy Secretary of State for Science and Technology, Roundtable (Dec. 5)
  • Marc Frankel (‘12) and Stephen Heitkamp (‘08), Palantir Corporation, “Big Data Practical Skills Workshop”(Jan. 4-8)
  • Joi Ito, MIT Media Lab, How the Internet has changed the world: Civic engagement, innovation, learning and technology today” (Jan 30)
  • Rusty Tunnard, Social Networks and Gender Analysis: Applications and Opportunities Discussion (Feb 10)
  • Olaf Groth, Silicon Valley Roundtable (Mar 25)
  • Patrick Meier, Digital Humanitarians (Mar 31)
  • Sam Mendelson, Arc Finance, Innovations in Energy Access Distribution and Finance  (Apr 8)

2013-2014

2012-2013

2011-2012

2010-2011

2009-2010

  • Jonathan Zittrain, Professor of Law, Harvard Law School and Co-director of Berkman Center for Internet and Society, A Mutual Aid Treaty for the Internet (Mar 10, 2010)
  • Japanese Business and Technology Roundtable, Japanese Corporations and Bottom-of-the-Pyramid Business (April 2, 2010): ProgramSummaryReport

2008-2009

  • Nicholas Negroponte, founder of the MIT Media Lab and chairman of One Laptop per Child, Advancing the Power of Innovation (Oct 23, 2008)
  • Prof. Partha Ghosh, Visiting Professor of Strategic Management at the Fletcher School Strategic Approaches to Innovation