When the rose colored glasses are removed, the cost of college dissuades even the most promising students from attending. “It’s my personal goal to make college accessible for everybody,” Spark! alum Vipul Patel said. Patel is fulfilling that goal with his start-up, Tasseled. Tasseled allows for students to take lower cost college courses at thousands […]
Most people dream of seeing the culmination of their work in a published paper. Spark! alum and Google Software Engineer Jorge Nario (CAS’20) made that a reality with his recent work, “Capturing Covertly Toxic Speech via Crowdsourcing.” As one of the brains behind the Google team who authored the paper, Nario worked to address the issue of […]
For over a century, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has fought to ensure the end of race-based discrimination. Spark! students are now joining the NAACP in that ongoing fight by creating an app which media outlets can use to self-assess bias in their coverage. “The purpose of this application is […]
A year and a half ago, one MassMutual Data Engineer walked the halls of Boston University as a Spark! Ambassador. Now, Sandy Seedhom is returning to her alma mater, letting students know the sky’s the limit. While at BU, Seedhom constantly evaluated what career path would be most fulfilling. Changing her major four times, the […]
When it comes to compelling screen-based experiences, the UX designers at Red Hat are leading the charge and taking BU students along for the ride. This October, Red Hat’s senior and associate researchers and designers hosted dual workshops that are “two fundamental pillars of the UX design process,” Red Hat’s Associate Interaction Designer Becca Glass […]
Some of your standard hackathons might be associated with the following: stress, tension, and self-doubt. Spark!’s Welcome Back Mini Hack took a different approach. “This is the most comforting hackathon I’ve been to,” Shateva Long (CAS’23) said. First and second year students boldly took on the challenge of creating a game or app over the […]
BostInno recently released their “Top 25 under 25” list, and Spark! alum, Fiona Whittington, was recognized for her work as the founder and executive director of TechTogether. The list highlights young start-up founders making a difference in the community. The accolades don’t stop there, Startup Boston, also awarded Whittington the “Equity Champion Award.” Since its start, TechTogether has […]
MassMutual announced plans to gift $1 million to the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences (CDS), marking the first partnership of the multidisciplinary academic unit. The funding supports hiring a non-tenure track faculty member outside of academia, along with a program manager and software engineer to bring their expertise to a classroom setting. The use […]
At this moment, roughly 16 million people are performing labor against their will. When $51 billion line the pockets of labor traffickers globally, despite illegality, the industry is steadily profiting off modern day slavery. To make a dent in those numbers, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office is developing a tool that Spark! Project Manager, Savannah […]
There’s nothing wrong with asking for a helping hand – whether you’re a student or industry professional. Spark! facilitates that valuable relationship between mentors and mentees through our Engineer in Residence (EIR) program. An Engineer in Residence is an industry expert and/or instructor who has the opportunity to support students along their technical journeys. In […]