New Undergraduate DSI Project Opportunities – Spring 2022!
Looking for opportunities to meaningfully contribute to real data science (DS) projects? Do you want to leverage state-of-the-art artificial intelligence (AI) models to create new assistive technologies? Vanderbilt’s Data Science Institute (DSI) has new opportunities for undergraduates to work on project teams with the guidance of a staff data scientist to learn technical skills, project management, and best practices – all while creating new solutions!
Who can apply?
Any undergraduate can meaningfully contribute to our DS projects, and the DSI welcomes both technical (those with strong programming or DS backgrounds) and non-technical participants! Some of our roles are listed below:
- Project Team Lead: Technical or non-technical participant who organizes the activities of the team as a project manager
- Domain Lead: Technical or non-technical participant who has the expertise about the domain (these projects will focus on providing technology for facilitating inclusivity for people with intellectual or speech disabilities)
- Technical Team Lead: The lead code contributor – a participant strong in programming in Python and able to provide feedback and coding instruction for other coders
- Code Contributor: A participant who has experience coding in Python or other languages, but feels confident about their ability to currently write or transition to writing Python code
- UI/UX Designer: A technical or non-technical participant who enjoys designing the user interfaces
What experience do I need?
Some roles will require strong domain knowledge or programming skills. Coders should be familiar with transformers, and can gain this skill by attending our virtual Transformer Intensive Jan 4-7, 2022. For all roles, don’t worry – you won’t be on your own. Training will be provided to get you comfortable in your roles, and you’ll always have a staff DSI data scientist in your meetings to help you!
What is the time commitment and expectations for participants?
The DSI provides experiential learning opportunities aligned with standard industry practice and adopts an Agile methodology for running projects. This means that you’ll be in about 3 meetings per week, one meeting will be up to 1.5 hours, and the other two are usually 30 minutes to an hour. Outside of these meetings, you’ll be expected to complete (or make meaningful progress) on the tasks you’re assigned during that week. We want you to have the best learning experience and also meet the project objectives, so we do expect our participants to attend all project meetings; however, we do also understand the occasional absence due to interviews, illness, etc.
How do I apply?
Fill out the participation form, and make sure that you state your interest in participating in the AI Initiative Projects, and what role(s) you’re interested in taking on. We’ll follow up with you in early January. Participation in the AI Intensive (or knowledge of transformers) is strongly suggested!
I have questions.
Have some questions about this opportunity? Email your questions to charreau.s.bell@vanderbilt.edu . Also, an information session on the DS Minor and opportunities for involvement will be held on January 20th, 2022 from 4-5pm in FGH 134 (Jacobs Believed In Me Auditorium).
We look forward to your involvement!