The program age limit of 30 years old should be reviewed to make room for graduate students that are above 30 years old owing to the fact that the program is open to graduate students. Limiting the age to 30 years old will deprive professionals above the age who have a diverse experience they can bring to the program the opportunity for participation. Being professionals they must have spent some years before enrolling for their graduate programs and as such are above 30 years old. It should, therefore, be reconsidered.

The application format should follow best practices around data minimization. Students applying to the NextGen program must be good at writing, ICANN being a multi-stakeholder organization must ensure that different fields of study are carried along because the internet is everybody's business. Graduate students who are  applicants must be able to articulate themselves by writing good applications. Technically-minded students must be able to pitch their projects in writing their applications.

The idea of a short video presentation should not be considered because any graduate student should be deemed fit to speak and present well, the written application should be sufficient to select the candidates for the program. Secondly, there is a pool of applicants from underserved communities in terms of internet connectivity, It might hinder their application to the NextGen program. Including short video should, therefore, be made optional as the case may be owing to the peculiarities of the applicants, and video quality vis-a-vis internet connectivity.

Oluwaseun Ajani