The United Nations University Centre for Policy Research (UNU-CPR) is expanding its research capacity, bringing new expertise to the Centre as it responds to a rapidly evolving set of challenges facing the United Nations and its Member States.
Reflecting the growing importance of rapid technological change to global governance, Emrys Schoemaker has joined UNU-CPR to lead the Centre’s work on Digital and Frontier Technologies. His research examines how artificial intelligence, data, digital infrastructure and other emerging technologies are reshaping governance, security and inclusion, and how multilateral institutions can navigate these transitions and ensure their benefits are more widely shared.
Schoemaker brings extensive experience spanning academic research and policy practice. He led the Global Digital Governance Lab and Digital Sovereignty Observatory at the Graduate Institute Geneva and is a Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics. Previously, he spent 13 years at Caribou Digital, building and leading a research and advisory practice working with governments, UN agencies and foundations on digital governance, digital identity and data policy. He has also advised UNDP, UNHCR and ITU.
UNU-CPR is also adding expertise across global governance. Erik Engberg joins as a Senior Researcher with UNU-CPR’s Global Governance Innovation (GGI) project, focusing on multilateralism, global governance and UN reform. Based in New York, Engberg previously led institutional assessments at the Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network and managed the UN financing programme at the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation. His earlier experience includes roles with UNMAS, UNOPS and UNDP.
Robert Piper joins UNU-CPR as a Senior Fellow, bringing 35 years of leadership experience across the United Nations. Most recently, he served as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Solutions to Internal Displacement. His career has spanned development, humanitarian action and peacebuilding, including leading implementation of the Secretary-General’s 2018 reforms to the UN development system as the inaugural head of the Development Coordination Office. His experience will contribute to UNU-CPR’s work on the future of the UN and efforts to strengthen the effectiveness of the multilateral system.
The Centre’s Geneva office is also expanding through its partnership with the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA) and the Geneva Science-Policy Interface (GSPI).
P.T. Nhean joins the Geneva Office as a UNU/GSPI Visiting Science-Policy Fellow, bringing expertise at the intersection of biosecurity and emerging technologies. As Director of Biosecurity at AI Safety Asia, her work addresses the implications of AI for engineering biology and emerging biological risks. Her research and policy engagement bridge technical epidemiology and engineering with efforts to strengthen biosafety, biosecurity and preparedness, particularly across Asia.
Morshed Mannan also joins the Geneva Office as a UNU/GSPI Visiting Science-Policy Fellow, focusing on data governance. A Lecturer in Global Law and Digital Technology at the University of Edinburgh, his research examines democratic and community-led governance in the digital economy, including platform and data cooperatives and decentralized autonomous organizations. His experience spans academic research, legal practice and policy engagement with organizations including the European Commission, OECD and UN entities.
Together, the appointments expand UNU-CPR’s capacity to connect expertise across disciplines and address challenges that increasingly cut across traditional policy boundaries – from the governance of AI and biotechnology to the future of multilateral institutions and the reform of the United Nations.
Welcoming the new researchers, UNU-CPR Director David Passarelli said:
“The challenges facing the multilateral system are becoming more complex, interconnected and fast-moving. Strengthening our research capacity allows UNU-CPR to anticipate these shifts and bring a wider range of evidence and expertise to the UN and its Member States. Emrys, Erik, Robert, P.T. and Morshed bring exceptional experience across technology, science, governance and the UN system. Their expertise will deepen our existing research while opening new areas of inquiry that are increasingly important to international cooperation."
