⚡ Announcing the Reboot Student Fellowship
Explore tech, humanity, and power through a guided book club, writing workshop, and community mentorship
While one-off events (like tomorrow’s event on the Internet and racial justice) are exciting, we’ve heard many of you ask for deeper community and learning. Those brainstorms catalyzed this:
P.S. If you’re not a student or between the ages of 18-22, forward this to a student you know!
⚡ the reboot student fellowship ⚡
More and more technologists are thinking seriously about the societal impact of technology, yet there are a dearth of opportunities to bring theory into practice. Students are ushered into career fairs and internships with vague promises of "tech for good," but are left alone to figure out what the hell that really means.
We're excited to introduce the Reboot Student Fellowship: a program for students to explore tech, humanity, and power through a guided book club, writing workshop, and community mentorship.
The first cohort will run from February 14 to April 4. We plan to accept 15-20 fellows reading and writing across four interest areas: race, labor, business, and government.
Apply at http://bit.ly/reboot-fellowship by January 20, or keep reading for more details.
The fellowship is run by Reboot and sponsored by Stanford's Public Interest Technology Lab.
📖 what will you do?
The fellowship runs from February 14 to April 4. It is free and fully virtual.
Each week, you'll spend around 1 hour in mentored peer groups, 1 hour in a fellowship-wide session, and 3-4 hours of external reading and writing:
A book club among peers: Each peer group will receive a relevant book to read, discuss, and then meet the author for a private Q&A. Each peer group will focus on one book and topic:
Race: Black Software by Charlton McIlwain
Labor: Voices from the Valley and "The Making of the Tech Worker's Movement" by Ben Tarnoff
Government: Future Histories by Lizzie O'Shea
Business: No Filter by Sarah Frier
Writing and workshopping a short piece: In the second half of the fellowship, peer groups will research, write, and peer-edit a short work to be published in the Reboot newsletter.
Real-life applications: Fellowship-wide activities are dedicated to making the theoretical practical: exploring public interest tech careers, current events, and group mixers. Mentors will meet 1:1 with every fellow to discuss their goals and match them to resources.
👩🏻💻 who's this for?
If this sounds exciting, then apply here! It'll take around 30 minutes, and applications are reviewed until January 20 at 11:59pm.
Here's who we're looking for:
You're a young person: a college undergrad or between the ages of 18-22.
You're passionate about technology, humanity, and power. You've done research, run a campaign, or built a product interrogating these issues. You're excited to connect theory and practice.
You're a lively and thoughtful discussion partner. You thrive in seminars and small groups. You ask lots of questions. You're comfortable pushing back (politely) on others' opinions and suggesting your own—but you're not a troll or provocateur.
You're keen to read and write, regardless of past experience. You're a self-motivated learner who actually does the readings (don't worry, you'll get to assign most yourself). You're eager to put pen to paper and revise your work with others.
You're excited to meet some incredible people: friends, mentors, and collaborators.
FAQ
What will I get out of the fellowship?
We hope fellows will come out with the following:
Community: A network of friends, career peers, and mentors who you can rely on for years to come.
Skill development: Improved writing, critical thinking, and understanding.
Purpose: A deepened desire to shape better technological and sociological futures.
Does the program cost anything?
No! You will be provided a free copy of the book. All we ask is that you show up and contribute.
What's the expected time commitment?
Each week, you can expect to spend approximately 1 hour in peer groups, 1 hour in fellowship-wide sessions, and 3-4 hours reading and writing. These numbers will depend on each student’s pace of reading and writing.
It's important to us that fellows attend the vast majority of sessions. We will adapt meeting times to maximize student availability.
Do I need to be studying a technical or tech-related field?
Not necessarily, but we expect fellows to demonstrate interest in exploring technology, humanity, and power. This could come from research, work experience, activism, personal learning, or anything else.
Do I need writing experience? What type of writing will I be doing?
You do not need past writing experience. Instead, we look for critical analysis skills, unique perspectives, and excitement about learning with others.
Check out the Reboot newsletter for some examples from our team of contributors (here's an essay on news and algorithmic agency and one on industry presence in the CS classroom).
Do I need to attend Stanford?
No, this fellowship is open to undergrads at any university and others between the ages of 18 and 22. We are looking for applicants from a range of backgrounds. The Stanford Public Interest Technology Lab is just a sponsoring organization.
Will there be other fellowships in the future?
We hope to run similar programs in future years.
If your question is not answered in the FAQ, reply to this email (jasminesun at stanford dot edu) or reach me on Twitter @jasminewsun.
Finally, I’d love if you could share this opportunity with anyone you know who might be interested. Thanks so much for the help!
—Jasmine & Reboot team