Student Insights: Drífa Atladóttir Shares her Experience Publishing a Policy Paper
Learn more about an STP MSc Alumna's publishing experience from start to finish!
Get to know the research of external page Drífa Atladóttir, an MSc STP alumna who completed her studies from 2021 to 2023 with a minor in data and computer science. As a student, Drífa focused on research exploring quantum technology governance, including publishing a policy paper titled “external page Navigating the Quantum Wave: A Policy Maker’s Guide for Responsible Governance of Quantum Technologies” with the external page ICT4Peace Foundation. She now works in the cybersecurity department at Roche and is finalizing the publication of her master’s thesis at ETH.
How did your interest in quantum policy first start?
It all started with my master’s thesis. I did my thesis with Dr. Verena Zimmerman and Dr. Mattias Leese, two ISTP affiliated professors. We first explored quantum technology and policy as a very general and open idea. Then, we started looking into the current status of national policies and frameworks around quantum technologies since it’s a very new and emerging technology.
What are quantum technologies?
Quantum technologies are essentially any technology that can or uses some sort of quantum mechanics to drive its output. It’s a very broad term that often encompasses many different things, including computational tasks within quantum computing and experimental exploration within quantum physics. Because there are currently different technologies at different stages, we’ve been seeing more national agendas and frameworks to tackle allocating resources toward developing these technologies. My paper with the ICT4Peace explores the current status of this.
Regarding your policy paper with the ICT4Peace, what was your reason for publication, and how did it all come about?
While working on my master’s thesis, I was approached by Daniel Stauffacher from ICT4Peace. He and ICT4Peace are very interested in emerging technologies and how they affect policy and government leadership. In relation to my research, Daniel and the foundation were interested in making a paper out of the findings of my master’s research that aims to be accessible to the general public and policymakers, particularly for people who aren’t familiar with quantum technologies. This is something I’ve been passionate about – that research should and can help decision-makers while also being very approachable. So, my main motivation for publishing this policy paper was to make my findings accessible and easily digestible.
The process started with meeting Daniel, discussing his interests and my interests, and seeing what would be most useful out of my thesis. Initially, it was a process of figuring things out and then talking to experts in the field of quantum technologies to get their opinions and an overview of what is happening in this scene. This was all very new to me as well, and it was a really fun exploratory opportunity.
What are some valuable things you learned while getting this paper published?
This paper offered an avenue to put my research into a different context of being very practical and accessible. Learning to speak that language is something that is useful, and I even see it now in my job. I think that this is a really underappreciated quality to have within academia. This research also showed me how it is working with an external company and the process of what they need to go through before getting from A to Z to the end product. I was also able to get in touch with experts and the non-academic community, which was very helpful both for my research and my understanding of the whole project.