Morning Session
We all introduce ourselves and Jake explains to use the history of the program and his visions for helping to match employers with talented minds. He did not use the words “charm school” =)
The program has grown since it’s first class of 8 students in 2012!
Background are so diverse - folks from physics, computer science, neuroscience, economics, biology, sociology, and so on. Folks who have studied in the US, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and more! Folks who have taught at universities as well as fresh grads, folks who have no industry experience to several years of experience. It’s a wonderfully diverse group, and enough outspoken individuals to see that they’ll be fun :)
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Afternoon session
In the afternoon we discuss how to think through project ideas. David and Friederike explain to us the format for thinking about our questions.
Group Presentations
- Bikeable - finding the safest route to bike home
- Flock - recycling app
- Tourism in NYC - recommending itineraries based on preferences and weather
- Buses - recommending routes
- Finding rental - recommending neighborhoods based on crime stats and detecting scams
- Buying a house - recommending based on lifestyle, commute time, zloft(xml,json), proximity to parks, crime stats. Also good for city government folks too.
- Reduce food waste - reducing spoiling in supermarkets and redistribution to composting, etc. Market surveys and other existing data.
- Job search by office location -
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The day ends with Happy Hour at Barcade. It’s great to see everyone enjoy themselves!
It’s great to hear fellows talk about their lives outside of the program. I was working up until the weekend, so I don’t have much non-work experience to speak of but others were busy! Some recently defended their thesis, others talk about their participation with co-op gardens, going to the beach with family, working out, what else..
.. lots of fellows new to NYC and want to explore. Will we have time for activities outside of the fellowship? We shall see!