On July 14, the 2025 Summer School on Internet Governance officially began. Andrey Vorobyev, Director of the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ, congratulated participants on successfully completing the competitive selection process and expressed his gratitude for their commitment to “dedicate part of their summer break to a collective intellectual marathon.”
Andrey Vorobyev highlighted that alumni from previous years continue to maintain active connections, collaborating on articles, speaking at conferences, and engaging in interdisciplinary projects. Addressing the current cohort, he urged them to work together, set research goals, and present ideas for group discussions – key components for fostering productive dialogue about the digital future.
Participants then familiarized themselves with the Summer School program, the criteria for progressing to the main stage, and received instructions for accessing the learning platforms.
Following a multi-stage selection process, 95 applicants were accepted into the Summer School, out of a total of 201 applications. While this figure slightly falls short of the record numbers from the past two years, it remains higher than the earlier editions of the program, reflecting ongoing youth interest in internet governance. The competition for admission was on par with the 2023 and 2024 cohorts.
Applications came from countries including Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Graduate students and young professionals consistently represented a significant portion of the applicants.
This year, information technology emerged as the leading professional field of applicants, followed by law and international relations.
A key addition to the program is the interactive seminar Internet Governance: Concept, Models, and Stakeholders, designed to foster participant engagement in debate. Attendees will review video lectures in advance and prepare insights as part of their assignments. On July 19, the session, moderated by recurring Summer School expert Mikhail Anisimov (ICANN) and host of the Digital Reality discussion club, will translate theory into a practical exchange of perspectives.
The preparatory and selection stage will cover topics such as cyber responsibility, data governance, and the platform economy, while the main program will delve into ICT ethics and regulation, AI’s potential and limitations in education, and other critical issues.
We wish participants a productive Summer School experience!
