Mac Milin Kiran

“I chose CCT because it perfectly encapsulated all my interests into one single graduate program – communication & journalism, policy & international affairs, and technology.“

Academic Background: BEng in Computer Science, with concentrations in Artificial Intelligence & Cybersecurity, and a minor in Public Policy & Global Affairs

Area of focus in CCT: Technology Law & Policy, Political Communications, Diplomatic Studies

What did you do before CCT? I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore just a few months before I started my studies at CCT! Over the course of my undergraduate degree, I explored various areas of interest through internships at a large corporate firm, a national newspaper and a start-up. My undergraduate journey culminated with my final year research project – Opinion Mining and Sentiment Analysis for Climate Change tweets. I took a short two-month break after graduating to visit family and travel.

What activities do you participate in at CCT? I was Fritz Family Fellow at the Georgetown Initiative on Tech & Society. I worked on a super interesting elections security project with Professor Meg Leta Jones and Professor Paul Ohm. I also worked as a Program Assistant with the MS in Environmental and Sustainability Management program. I joined GradGov and the Georgetown Technology Policy Initiative (GTPI). At GradGov, I worked as the Deputy Director of Elections & Membership and at GTPI, I also lead the Hackathon Working Group.

Why did you choose CCT? I chose CCT because it perfectly encapsulated all my interests into one single graduate program – communication & journalism, policy & international affairs and technology. The fact that I could curate my own journey at CCT with such interesting and cutting-edge electives, topped it off for me!

What surprised you about CCT? I was pleasantly surprised by how approachable the CCT faculty are, and how each of them is so doing such vividly distinct work (I hope I get to know all of them by the end of two years!). I was also surprised at the diversity of the cohort and how no two students are the same!

What have you been up to since CCT? Since CCT, I have been working with a former Member of Parliament in India on tech/digital policy issues. I’ve focused mostly on AI Regulation, Facial Recognition & Surveillance and National Cyber Threats.