The 2020-21 Tech for Social Good (TSG) program is now open for applications for sponsor student research projects and events on UC Santa Cruz campus. Project ideas that explore the use of technology to solve a significant social challenge can apply for up to $5000 in funding and event ideas up to $1000. The 2020-21 deadline for applications is November 16th.
Three upcoming Zoom info sessions for students - plus staff and faculty working with students they feel would be interested - will walk through the application process and also provide an opportunity for students to pitch their project and event ideas in order to connect with other students interested in working on the idea. So anyone interested in solving societal challenges, whether they have a project or event idea or not, should attend.
RSVP for the sessions at:
Thursday, October 15th from 9:00 - 10:00 am - RSVP here: https://ucsc.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwtfuChqD0qH9TuJm0MAUgGr-hKMpub3w2o
Wednesday, October 19th from 3:00 to 4:00 pm - RSVP here: https://ucsc.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUrfuqhrDsoHt2iOrnI1mmfZlTDtGYKK-E8
Thursday, October 21st, from 12:00 - 1:00 pm - RSVP here: https://ucsc.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwodO-hqD4vHdF-VGuFSpl9NymfdzZBsBjw
TSG is open to teams of undergraduate students and mixed teams of graduate and undergraduate students (but not teams of graduate students only) and has two competitive tracks:
The Technology track - students can apply for funding of $500 – $5,000 for tech-focused projects that promote social good by supporting healthy, sustainable, prosperous, and equitable livelihoods in the United States and abroad.
The Events track - UC Santa Cruz individual students, student organizations or student groups apply for between $200 – $1,000 to develop events or programming that improve and support technological innovations that support healthy, sustainable, and connected communities.
The application portals for both tracks are open now at:
Technology Development Track: https://citris.smapply.org/prog/2020-2021_ucsc_tech_for_social_good_tech_development_track
Student-led Events Track: https://citris.smapply.org/prog/2020-2021_ucsc_tech_for_social_good_student-led_events
The Technology track is open to a wide range of projects, from hardware or software solutions to a societal challenge, to those that bring an innovative use of a technology - like a website, social media, or data application - to explore a solution. The Events track is also open to diverse programming, from an actual tech event, like a hackathon, to speakers addressing tech issues, to club meetings that explore some element of technology’s impact on our lives. Explore last year’s funded projects for inspiration, but don’t feel limited by the scope of the examples.