BE Undergraduate Newsletter
Announcements
Competitive Programming Club for UCSC
Hi everyone,
My name is Nhan Nguyen, and I'm a sophomore here at UCSC. My proposed major is Computer Science: Computer Game Design. I have been programming since I was in 9th grade, and I have a deep passion for this subject.
For the past 2 years, I have been very devoted to a field in Computer Science called Competitive Programming (CP for short). Throughout the course of 2 years, Competitive Programming help me explore many programming techniques and algorithms that catapult my programming skills to the next level (to name a few simple ones: Binary Search, Two Pointers, DP). As my skills steadily improve, I found myself in many different coding contest from large companies like Google, Facebook, etc (my most recent one being Facebook Hacker Cup). Being involved in the Competitive Programming community for a long time also exposes me to a very prestigious contest called ICPC ( https://icpc.global/), and from there I realized that one of my biggest dreams is to compete in the ICPC.
So I got to work looking for a UCSC club that covers the topic, and I was disappointed to find that our campus lacks such a club. Since UCSD and most UCs has such a club and we don’t, I have started and currently am running a new club that specializes in Competitive Programming here at UCSC. The end goal of this club is to improve fellow programmers personal coding skills with a variety of problems to participate in the once-in-a-lifetime ICPC contest, compete in other prestigious contests like Facebook Hacker Cup or Google Codejam, and also gearing them up with the necessary skills to ace coding interviews.
I am looking for advisors and executive members for this club. If you are interested in Competitive Programming and want to support what I'm doing or being an executive/advisor in general, please message me through my UCSC email: nhtrnguy@ucsc.edu, or you could join the clubs' discord here at: https://discord.gg/aw8EqPCbWy
P.S: If you don't know what Competitive Programming is you can see this video for reference https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueNT-w7Oluw&t=1s
Interested in AI or Natural Language Processing? Consider Applying to the UCSC NLP Master's Program!
Call for Applications: 1 year M.S. Program in NLP at UCSC Silicon Valley
Natural language processing (NLP) is a rapidly growing field with applications in many of the technologies we use every day, from virtual assistants and smart speakers to autocorrect. UCSC has created a unique Master’s program in NLP to provide students with the skills and in-depth knowledge of NLP algorithms, technologies, and applications that are in high demand in both industry and academia. Our program goes beyond the classroom by supplying students with industry-relevant projects for the kind of real-world experience that is essential for a successful career in NLP.
Please visit https://grad.soe.ucsc.edu/nlp/ for details.
Program Highlights:
- 1-year program, including a 3-quarter capstone project
- Core courses covering all aspects of NLP
- Instruction and capstone project collaborations with experts from industry giants like IBM, Microsoft, Amazon and Bloomberg
- State of the art facilities in the heart of Silicon Valley
We are seeking a diverse pool of applicants to this program.
Some partial fellowships may be available.
Applications are now open. See https://grad.soe.ucsc.edu/nlp/ for instructions.
Application deadline is February 15, 2022 for Fall 2022 admission.
Questions can be directed to the NLP Program Team at nlp@ucsc.eduReaders/Tutors needed for CSE 100 (logic design) and CSE120 (computer architecture), Winter 2022
Hello all,
I am in urgent need for reader/tutor positions for both CSE100 and CSE120 for W2022.
Please apply here if you are interested!
- Prof Sagnik Nath
Commencement Student Advisory Board
Learn about the UC Santa Cruz Natural Language Processing MS Program!
Learn about the UC Santa Cruz Natural Language Processing MS Program!
On January 19th at 12pm PST, the Baskin Office of Graduate Student Affairs will be hosting an information session about the Natural Language Processing (NLP) Master's program at UC Santa Cruz.
Natural language processing (NLP) is a rapidly growing field with applications in many of the technologies we use every day, from virtual assistants and smart speakers to autocorrect. UC Santa Cruz has created a unique master's program in NLP to provide students with the skills and in-depth knowledge of NLP algorithms, technologies, and applications that are in high demand in both industry and academia.
Program Highlights:
- 1-year program, including a 3-quarter capstone project
- Core courses covering all aspects of NLP
- Instruction and capstone project collaborations with experts from industry giants like IBM, Interactions LLC, Linkedin, Microsoft, Amazon and Bloomberg
- State of the art facilities in the heart of Silicon Valley
Join us on January 19th at 12pm PST to learn more about the course offerings, application process, and unique advantages of the NLP MS program at UC Santa Cruz.
To attend this virtual event, please register by 10am PST on January 19th by completing this online form: https://ucsc.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMqcOiqqT4rG9dz1RJgNR6RQz-tGT-hK8Qr.
Please be sure to visit https://grad.soe.ucsc.edu/nlp/ to read more about the NLP program.
We look forward to seeing you at the event!
Follow us on:
-Facebook: ** @UCSCNLPMS (https://www.facebook.com/UCSCNLPMS/)
-Twitter: ** @UCSC_NLP_MS (https://twitter.com/UCSC_NLP_MS)
-LinkedIn: ** UC Santa Cruz Natural Language Processing Master's Program (https://www.linkedin.com/school/ucsc-nlp-ms/)
Declare Your Baskin Engineering Major!
Dear Baskin Engineering Students,
If you are required to declare your major this quarter go here to start the process! If you are in your 6th quarter at UCSC you must start the major declaration process this quarter, even if you still have major qualification courses still in progress.
Please note that the final day to start the process in Baskin Engineering is Wednesday, January 19th at 4:00 p.m.
Although the campus declaration of major deadline for Winter is Friday, February 4, the declaration of major process in Baskin Engineering requires several steps including verification of your major qualification requirements which is why you must start the process earlier than the campus deadline.
2022 Straus Scholarship Informational Webinar October 19th at 4:00 pm
Donald A. Strauss Scholarship
The Donald A. Strauss Scholarship Foundation allows students to pursue a public service project during their junior or senior year. The scholarship provides $15,000 for expenses of the public service project and for some tuition, fees, books, room and board. The Foundation will award scholarships to full-time students who have:
- Demonstrated an interest in public service
- Outstanding leadership potential
- Developed and can demonstrate effective communication skills
- The desire to "make a difference” in local, regional, national or international communities
- One or two years remaining until graduation
- A GPA in the upper 1/3 of their class
- Submitted an innovative, original, public service proposal
MBARI Summer Internship Program
June 6 – August 12, 2022
MBARI’s Summer Internship Program provides an opportunity for talented college students (undergraduate and graduate) and educators to work directly with MBARI scientists, engineers and communicators. MBARI’s state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, including research vessels, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), offer educators and students unique opportunities to collaborate on advanced research and development projects. The program immerses interns in collaborative teams as they learn innovative research and engineering techniques and improve communication skills. Each intern will have an MBARI mentor who will supervise a specific project for a 10-week duration. Interns also serve as peer-mentors to each other.
Applications for the 2022 MBARI internship (June 6 – August 12) will be accepted through February 7, 2022 at 8 am (Pacific).
We are currently planning for an in-person internship but may have to switch to a virtual program if COVID issues are still prevalent. Summer interns are selected following a rigorous application procedure and merit review. Hailing from around the world, MBARI’s interns represent a variety of lived experiences and education levels. We encourage all students and educators interested in a STEM career to apply.
How to apply:
Suggestions for those applying can be found here. All applications must include:
- A cover letter describing:
- general interests/goals as well as specific interests/goals relative to MBARI,
- your project preference (please choose from this list),
- your relevant coursework and grades, and
- how you hope to use your upbringing, and/or unique lived experiences to enhance your internship participation
- Curriculum vitae
- One letter of recommendation
Winter Opportunities in the Tech4Good Lab
The Tech4Good Lab has several positions open next quarter for undergraduate students from all majors. We are looking for people who are extremely responsible, love learning, and have a strong drive to apply technology for social good. For next quarter, we have positions doing the following types of work:
- User research: interviewing and analyzing interviews to understand user needs and context,
- Usability evaluation: conducting evaluations of interfaces for usability,
- Interface design: designing and iterating on web interfaces in Figma,
- Web development: coding an app using an Angular/NgRx/Firebase stack,
- DevOps: building tools to support developers and operations across lab projects,
- AI & economics: modeling economic systems using multiagent reinforcement learning,
- NLP: build topics to identify similarity and create clusters of short text responses,
You would be contributing to a variety of projects in the lab related to designing systems to better support the future of education, work, and community engagement. Some of the platforms we are working on include:
- An app aimed at scaling apprenticeship learning, which supports people in learning through micro-roles while supporting non-profits as they learn,
- An app aimed at microlearning through small groups to create learning environments supporting curiosity, creativity, and relationships,
- An app containing short activities for team/group community building, and also creating "small group networks" that can facilitate interesting collective goals,
- An app aimed at supporting chat-based career mentorship between industry professionals and groups of students,
Joining requires a commitment of 10 hours/week for the quarter for independent study credits. If you are interested, fill out the Tech4Good Lab Interest Form and send an email to David Lee (dlee105@ucsc.edu).
P.S. Follow our Facebook or Instagram to hear about future student opportunities in Tech4Good!
Genomics Independent Studies Opportunity for Winter '22
JOIN THE COMPUTATIONAL GENOMICS LAB!
It's a fantastic way to learn new skills, contribute to the development of genome science, and prepare for grad school. We offer flexible schedules, and you can telecommute with any laptop!We're looking for undergraduate UC Santa Cruz students with a strong background in statistics, computer science, mathematics, physics, chemistry, or biology.
2- or 5-unit course credit is available.
APPLY HERE (http://bit.ly/38Y0cbd) BY JANUARY 10TH FOR WINTER '22!
NRS Field Science Fellowship - Applications Due January 20th
Dear UC Community,
We'd like to remind you that January 20th is the application deadline for the 2022 Field Science Fellowship program, an undergraduate research program sponsored by the University of California Natural Reserve System (NRS).
The NRS Field Science Fellowship provides financial support to UC undergraduate-faculty teams conducting scientific research in the field at NRS reserves. The fellowships enable students to focus on gaining valuable hands-on research experience under the guidance of a faculty researcher. Each $6,000 award consists of a $5,000 student spend and $1,000 to cover project costs. A maximum of $24,000 will be awarded annually.
Projects enabling the student to perform full-time research over the summer are preferred. However, we will also consider proposals that explain why the research must be conducted during another season, and how the student will be able to accomplish the research while enrolled in classes during the academic year.
Access and inclusion
All applications are welcomed and will be considered. We especially invite applications from students from ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds historically underrepresented in the sciences, including but not limited to African-American, Latinx, Nave American, Pacific Islander, and first-generation college students.
Application information
Eligibility requirements, evaluation criteria, and complete application information can be found here.
Columbia University MA in Statistics Info Sessions
We are thrilled to invite you to join our online MA in Statistics Information Sessions led by the Program Directors and administrative staff. The Information Session is perfect for students who want to learn more about our program, admission requirements, curriculum, student support and community, as well as funding opportunities. Additionally, we will have plenty of time for Q&A after the live presentation.
Please click on the RSVP link to register for one of our online Fall 2022 Information Sessions.
*Note the times listed are in Eastern Time (ET).
- January 21, 2022 | 3:00 - 4:00 PM EST - RSVP
- February 4, 2022 | 3:00 - 4:00 PM EST - RSVP
- March 4, 2022 | 3:00 - 4:00 PM EST - RSVP
- April 1, 2022 | 3:00 - 4:00 PM EST - RSVP
ACM-W General Body Meeting!
We will be having our first general body meeting on Hackathon tips this Thursday at 6 pm on Zoom!