Meridian International Center and the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue formalize a collaboration to expand technology diplomacy education and policy engagement across Meridian's global network.
The agreement also opens the door to joint convenings, workshops, and executive education on topics at the frontier of technology and global governance. For Meridian, it is one of several moves that signal a broader ambition: to be not just a witness to the diplomacy of emerging technology, but a driver of it.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Meridian International Center’s Center for Technology, Innovation and Space is expanding its footprint in global tech policy with a new partnership with the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue, the world’s preeminent trusted technology accelerator. The collaboration is the latest step in Meridian’s deliberate effort to ensure that its diplomacy programming reflects the defining policy challenges of this moment, from artificial intelligence and cybersecurity to digital governance and emerging connectivity.
Through the partnership, Meridian’s global network of diplomats, exchange visitors, government officials, and alumni will gain access to the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue’s Tech Diplomacy Academy, the world’s first online education platform dedicated to preparing leaders across government, industry, and civil society to understand how critical and emerging technologies shape national power, economic competitiveness, and freedom. The courses cover key areas such as artificial intelligence, 5G, cybersecurity, and digital infrastructure. But the partnership is about more than curriculum. It positions Meridian as an institution that is actively shaping how the next generation of global leaders understands and engages with technology as a force in international affairs.
"Technology has become a defining force in geopolitics, economic security, and national competitiveness,” said Janice deGarmo, Chief Global Engagement Officer of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue. "Our partnership with the Meridian International Center bridges the gap between technical innovation and traditional diplomacy. By scaling access to the Tech Diplomacy Academy across Meridian’s global network, we are preparing the next generation of international leaders to ensure that the critical technologies shaping our future are built on a foundation of trust and freedom."
Meridian’s Center for Technology, Innovation and Space has emerged as one of Washington’s most active conveners on tech diplomacy, bringing together senior government officials, private sector leaders, and international partners to address the geopolitical dimensions of digital infrastructure, space, and innovation policy. This partnership with the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue deepens that work—adding an educational dimension that extends Meridian’s influence beyond the conference room and into the professional development of leaders across more than 140 countries.
“Diplomacy today requires fluency in the technologies shaping global power, economic competitiveness, and public trust. This partnership with the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue allows Meridian to increase our capacity to provide world-class tech diplomacy education to our global network of diplomats, officials, exchange leaders, and alumni, helping them engage emerging technologies not as abstract concepts, but as critical forces in international affairs,” said Kellee Wicker, Vice President of the Meridian Center for Technology, Innovation and Space.
The agreement also opens the door to joint convenings, workshops, and executive education on topics at the frontier of technology and global governance. For Meridian, it is one of several moves that signal a broader ambition: to be not just a witness to the diplomacy of emerging technology, but a driver of it.
About Meridian International Center
Meridian is a nonpartisan center for diplomacy founded in 1960 and headquartered on a historic campus in Washington, D.C. Our mission is to empower leaders to advance the next era of diplomacy for a better future. Our programs strengthen American leadership by accelerating collaboration on shared challenges, increasing economic competitiveness, and building geopolitical resilience. We equip leaders from business, science and technology, cities and states, culture and sports with the insights, networks, and resources to navigate a complex world.
About the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue
The Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue is the world’s preeminent trusted technology accelerator. As the leader in the new category of Tech Diplomacy, the Institute integrates technology expertise, Silicon Valley strategies and foreign policy tools to build the Global Trusted Tech Network of governments, companies, organizations and individuals to accelerate the innovation and adoption of trusted technology and ensure technology advances freedom.
Visit the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue online at TechDiplomacy.org and follow on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, and YouTube. Enroll in the Tech Diplomacy Academy to learn what you need to know now about key emerging technologies and their impact on business, policy and the global economy. Subscribe to the Institute’s weekly newsletter Tech Diplomacy Now for the latest news at the intersection of high tech and foreign policy.
For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact Megan Stencel at megan@javelindc.com or 703-490-8845.