Digital Policy Leadership Program - ILE-HSG Institut für Law and Economics

Program Overview

Partners: University of St. Gallen, Switzerland & INSPER, Brazil.

Duration: 4 or 5 months abroad, in the Fall or Spring semesters.

Key Points

Focused Program: Bridging Brazil and Switzerland in issues related to digital policy.
Interdisciplinary Approach: Law, economics, business, and computer science/engineering collaboration.

The program, funded by the Lemann Foundation and offered by the University of St. Gallen and INSPER, presents a development opportunity for bachelor students to benefit from the strengths of both institutions in digital policy.

Participants will take classes, conduct research, and have networking opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills. The program integrates interdisciplinary views from Swiss and Brazilian contexts and offers opportunities for developing leadership and career paths in digital policy.

Introducing the Lemann Digital Policy Leadership Program

The Digital Policy Leadership Program is open to bachelor’s students from all INSPER (São Paulo) and University of St.Gallen courses. It is designed for those who wish to gain knowledge, experience, networking, and leadership skills in digital policy, benefiting from international exposure and mentorship from experienced professors and researchers.

The University of St.Gallen specializes in business administration, economics, law, international affairs, and computer science and offers an extensive curriculum and research in topics related to digital technologies. INSPER is a leading institution in São Paulo, Brazil, offering innovative and interdisciplinary programs in law, business administration, economics, computer science, and engineering. The Exchange Office at INSPER provides extensive support and integration opportunities for exchange students.

St. Gallen, the capital of the Canton of St. Gallen, features heritage sites of national significance and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is close to nature and the mountains, and offers a vibrant student life. São Paulo, Brazil’s largest city, is a vibrant metropolis and a hub for tech companies, digital policy research, and advocacy. The city offers a dynamic mix of cultural experiences, making it an exciting place to live and study.

Activities During the Exchange

Throughout the exchange program, students will engage in activities to enhance their understanding and skills in digital policy, including:

• Leadership Training: Engage with experts to develop skills and explore career opportunities.
• Research Projects: Contribute 4-8 hours weekly to research projects at the host institution.
• Mentorship Program: Receive guidance from mentors throughout the program.
• Digital Policy Day: Organize an event fostering community engagement on key topics.
• Networking and Learning Visits: Excursions to meet institutions and stakeholders in Geneva and Brazilian policy and research bodies in São Paulo.

Fellowship Funding

The Lemann Foundation funds costs related to flights, visas, accommodation, and board for the duration of the fellowship abroad.

Eligibility and Requirements

Applicants must be bachelor’s students at the University of St.Gallen / Insper, should have a keen interest in digital policy, and demonstrate that the program fits their career aspirations. Participants commit to engaging in the programs’ activities.

At the University of St.Gallen: many courses are offered in English. German knowledge benefits student life and a basic course is offered by the University of St.Gallen Mobility Services before each semester starts.

At INSPER: while classes at INSPER can be taken in English, basic knowledge of Portuguese is beneficial for settling in and integrating. The University of St. Gallen offers Portuguese courses that successful applicants are encouraged to consider.

Application Process

For students at the University of St. Gallen: Applications for Fall 2025 are now open! The deadline to apply is 12 December 2024, at 16:00 (CET). Please visit the application portal to submit all required documents.

For Insper Students: Applications should be submitted by 03 June 2024 for the Spring Semester 2025. The date for the Fall semester 2025 will be posted soon.

Leaders of the program

Mariana Valente

Tenure track assistant professor of International Law and Economics at the University of St.Gallen, Switzerland. I am also associate director of InternetLab, a São Paulo-based think tank working on building the evidence for human rights-responsive internet policy. I am dedicated to research in AI and platform governance from a sociotechnical perspective, and IP and cultural and knowledge practices. I was part of the Brazilian Senate Legal Experts Commission, which drafted an AI regulation law.

Before moving to Switzerland, besides InternetLab, I taught and coordinated the Certification for Law and Technology at the Executive Education at Insper. Previously I worked at the Center for Technology and Society of Fundação Getúlio Vargas in Rio de Janeiro, and before that I was the legal coordinator of the Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo. As a lawyer, I worked primarily with heritage institutions and cultural projects. One of the works I am most proud of is developing a copyright policy for the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, helping the institution towards its culture and heritage preservation and dissemination goals.

I have a doctorate from the University of São Paulo and had study or research experiences at the LMU Munich, Yale University, and UC Berkeley Law School. Before studying law, I got a technical education in data processing at COTUCA-Unicamp. I have authored and co-authored a few books and many papers, which can be found on my academic profiles online.

Ivar Hartmann

Ivar Hartmann has taught and published in the field of law and technology for over 15 years. He has published 12 books, 41 journal articles and 12 book chapters. According to the AD Scientific Index 2024, he is in the top 75 most cited Brazilian legal scholars, measured by Google Scholar’s h index in the last 6 years. Hartmann has been cited by outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Le Monde, Reuters, Folha de São Paulo, O Globo, Valor Econômico, Estadão and Correio Braziliense. Hartmann has appeared before the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court, as a law professor, and before the Brazilian Congress to share his research findings on free speech, online misinformation and regulation of artificial intelligence. He holds an LLB and MSc from the Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUC-RS), an LLM from Harvard Law School and a PhD from the State University of Rio de Janeiro. Hartmann is an Associate Professor at Insper in São Paulo (since 2021) and was a Professor at FGV Law School in Rio de Janeiro (2013-2020), where he led, among other initiatives, the Center for Technology and Society (CTS-FGV).

Spring 2025 Mentors

Dr. Angela Müller
Executive Director AlgorithmWatch CH | Executive Board Member AlgorithmWatch

Angela is Executive Director of AlgorithmWatch CH in Zurich and Executive Board Member of AlgorithmWatch in Berlin. Before, she led the Policy Team at AlgorithmWatch for four years. She is responsible for the overall strategy of the organization and especially for its work in the fields of policy and investigations. Angela has testified as an expert before the Council of Europe, the German Bundestag and the Swiss Parliament, and was appointed as one of “100 Women in AI Ethics” worldwide in 2024. She is a member of expert working groups of the Swiss Federal Administration and – next to her role at AlgorithmWatch – of the Federal Media Commission. Angela studied political philosophy and ethics and holds a PhD in Law from the University of Zurich, where her research focused on the cross-border applicability of human rights law in the context of globalization and new technologies. She was a visiting researcher at Columbia University, New York, and Hebrew University, Jerusalem. Prior to her current role, she held positions at different universities, for an innovation platform, a civil society think tank on foreign policy, and the Swiss Foreign Ministry.

Bruno Rodrigues

Bruno Rodrigues is an Assistant Professor of Embedded Sensing Systems at the Institute of Computer Science in Vorarlberg (ICV), University of St. Gallen (HSG). He earned his PhD in Computer Science from the University of Zürich in 2020, where he also worked as a postdoctoral researcher until 2023, focusing on passive wireless sensing technologies. His research bridges the theoretical and practical aspects of sensors, with a focus on communication protocols and their tradeoffs in terms of performance, efficiency, and security in various real-world applications.

Fall 2024 Mentors

Janna Hastings

Janna Hastings is Assistant Professor of Medical Knowledge and Decision Support at the Institute for Implementation Science in Health Care, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, and Vice-Director of the School of Medicine at the University of St. Gallen. She holds a PhD in Computational Biology from the University of Cambridge (2019) and Masters in both Computer Science (2011) and Philosophy (2012). Her interdisciplinary research explores how advanced computational approaches can advance medical research and support clinical practice, with a particular focus on how new, powerful and multi-modal approaches to artificial intelligence can be applied to a wide range of clinical use cases and how such approaches can be made more effective, generalisable and interpretable.

Bruno Mascello

Bruno Mascello is Adjunct Professor of Business Law and Legal Management and Academic Director at the Executive School of Management, Technology and Law (ES-HSG) at the University of St. Gallen, where he is also responsible for the continuing education programs Executive Master Management & Law (EM ML-HSG) and Management for the Legal Profession (MLP-HSG). He also teaches at the University of St. Gallen and its Executive School and researches and publishes in the field of legal management. Finally, he also works as an attorney and consultant.

Graziela Tonin

Graziela has been in the technology market for 19 years, taking on diverse roles. After working as a project manager, she transitioned to a consultant role. She focuses on implementing agile methodologies and software engineering practices, as well as organizing teams, processes, and KPIs. Additionally, Graziela dedicates her time to teaching workshops and delivering talks at companies, events, and universities in Brazil and abroad.

She holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science and has received the US IBM World Award and the Women of Value Award. Graziela is the Director of the Computer Engineering Program and a Professor in the Engineering and Computer Science Program at Insper Institution. She began her academic career by teaching specific classes in postgraduate programs within the technology field. Later, she became a professor at the Federal University, where she served for eight years. After reaching the associate level, she transitioned to Insper, where she has been for nearly three years. Throughout her 11 years of teaching, she has consistently taught courses in agile methodologies and has been continuously testing and evolving various teaching approaches, educating thousands of students.

Graziela has also taken intentional initiatives to increase the representation of women in technology and improve the overall environment to ensure their persistence in their careers. In addition to her professional work, Graziela actively mentors and contributes to various national entrepreneurship and innovation programs, including Inovativa Brasil.

Meet the Spring 2025 fellows:

Andri Gabathuler

Andri studies Law and Economics at HSG and has been an active member of the legal team at Start Global, a St. Gallen-based global entrepreneurship initiative dedicated to fostering innovation in Switzerland and beyond. Recognizing São Paulo as the entrepreneurial and cultural hub of Latin America, he sees this as the ideal environment to expand his horizons. With the rapid evolution of digital markets and cross-border transactions, Andri is particularly interested in how legal frameworks, especially tax policies, can adapt to these changes. He is eager to explore Brazil’s approach to regulation, focusing on the intersection of digital policy and taxation, and how these measures shape innovation and economic growth. Through this program, he aims to gain a deeper understanding of these regulatory dynamics and contribute to the development of more effective and forward-thinking policies.

Ruth Gaudencio da Silva

Ruth is a full scholarship student in Law at Insper. Since the beginning of her undergraduate studies, she has been dedicated to exploring the connection between law and technology, and she is currently conducting Scientific Initiation research in the project: “Judicial Behavior and the Facebook Oversight Board.” She also incorporates the issue of racial equity into her academic activities and projects as part of the Black Group of Students Raposas Negras. Her interest in the DPLP is to gain practical experience, expand her network, and further her knowledge to contribute to the discussion and development of non-discriminatory software focused on public security.

Thiago Teixeira dos Santos

I am 21 years old from São Paulo. With a full scholarship, I am studying mechatronic engineering at INSPER. During my degree I also am specialising in bioengineering because I love the multidisciplinary setting between engineering, biology, health, and ethics. I am eager to participate on the DPLP so I can learn what it takes to be a leader capable of facing diverse challenges. Moreover, I want to conduct research aimed at impact and experience first-hand different global views at St. Gallen University.

Meet the Fall 2024 fellows

Benjamin Auer

Technical Solutions Consultant at Frontify, Business Student at the University of St.Gallen, and Board Member of the Green Liberal Party of St. Gallen. I am eager to participate in the digital policy leadership program, as it offers an invaluable opportunity to deepen my understanding of Brazilian culture, its political landscape, and its dynamic startup ecosystem. My goal is to contribute to shaping future digital policies that safeguard entrepreneurial freedom while thoughtfully addressing the ethical, social, and democratic implications associated with modern technologies like AI, Big Data, and E-Voting.

Constantin Köchert

Originally from Vienna, Austria, I’m currently in my 6th semester at HSG. As a business student at the University of St. Gallen, I’m thrilled to be part of the Digital Policy Leadership Program. This presents an excellent opportunity for me to delve into Brazilian culture, politics, and the startup scene. Moreover, I’m eager to engage with students from INSPER and gain insights into their perspectives on digital policy. Lastly, I’m looking forward to immersing myself in the leadership training, research projects, and mentorship opportunities provided by the program, which will undoubtedly enrich my knowledge and skills in this vital field.

Daniela Matos

I’m 22 years old and from São Paulo. I’m studying Law on a full scholarship for the 7th semester at INSPER. During my degree, I was a research assistant at the Law, Health, and Public Policy Center and in other research projects led by my professors. I also led two individual research projects with a fellowship. The digital policy program at the University of St Gallen interests me because of my affinity with research and my interest in law and technology. Through the program, I expect to understand complex problems and seek alternatives.

Camila Bernardi

I’m 21 years old, from Santo André – SP, Brazil, and currently studying Mechatronic Engineering at INSPER. I have been specializing in bioengineering. In 2024, I will participate in the DPLP program in partnership with the University of St. Gallen and the Lemann Foundation. I believe that the program will be fundamental in shaping me as a leader and will guide me in my future projects and ethical discussions about the area of bioengineering that I wish to explore in my career.

News and Events

Info Sessions:

At the University of St. Gallen
Join us for an informative session on 27 November 2024, at 17:00 (CET) via Zoom.

Zoom link: https://unisg.zoom.us/j/61251629159

Info session at Insper: the date will be posted soon.

Welcoming Day at the University of St. Gallen Fall 2025: the date will be posted soon.

Contact Information

University of St.Gallen:

For issues related to Application/Registration for an exchange semester, visa processes:
Student Mobility Services
Esther Stäheli
Tellstrasse 2
CH-9000 St. Gallen
Phone number: +41 71 224 31 50

Academic Inquires:
Prof. Dr. Mariana Valente
Varnbüelstrasse 19
CH-9000 St. Gallen
Phone number: +41 71 224 26 13

Fellowship details:
Isabella Frangi Bassani
Varnbüelstrasse 19
CH-9000 St. Gallen

INSPER:

For academic questions and questions regarding the fellowship:
Prof. Dr. Ivar A. Hartmann
Office 710
Rua Quatá, 300 – Vila Olímpia
São Paulo, SP – Brasil
CEP: 04546-042

For issues related to student life, university administration, credits, etc.:
Student Mobility Services
Andreia Lopes de Castro Ribeiro
Rua Quatá, 300 – Vila Olímpia
São Paulo, SP – Brasil
CEP: 04546-042

Overview