Nepal-based summer program, called 85°East just launched

Nepal-based summer program, called 85°East just launched

Designed for undergraduate and graduate students and builds on students’ individual learning goals by finding projects and programs that caters to each student’s interests, all the while providing an academic support structure to ensure they get the most out of their experience. The goal of the Summer 2017 program is to give students the freedom to pursue a creative independent project or internship (70 percent of their time), while providing a framework for academic and personal growth (30 percent of the time will be spent on structured seminars to more deeply understand context specific, adaptive challenges and opportunities.) The cost to the student (excluding airfare) would be $2000 for the 9-10 weeks from early June to mid-August. That covers an internship placement and all associated local travel costs, orientation, living arrangements including housing, food, and laundry, and an academic framework including short weekly readings and a weekly seminar. (www.85degeast.com)

You can find two documents that explains the program in detail at: www.bit.ly/85degeast

Intern – PR Intern / Mentorship (Consumer Products, Durham NC)- Feline Innovations

Intern – PR Intern / Mentorship (Consumer Products, Durham NC)- Feline Innovations

Feline Innovations is a pet products company founded in 2015. They are currently offering a unique intern + mentorship program for undergraduates interested in entrepreneurship and consumer products. The intern will aid in day-to-day PR and media relations at Feline Innovations – while undergoing an immersive mentorship program in launching and building consumer products businesses. This is an unpaid internship, and will be structured as a dual intern / mentorship program.

Applicants should be available 2 hrs per day and available to meet at office in downtown Durham or on Duke campus. Program will be structured as a combined co-op / consumer products primer, and will begin in March 2017. Goal will be to provide applicants with the knowledge and skill sets to build new consumer products companies in the future – while aiding in day-to-day activities of the current business. Applicants should respond with resume, availability, and description of interest to: hr@felineinnovations.com.

[Social Innovation]: Nonprofits/civic tech orgs - apply to Y Combinator

March 24: Y Combinator Deadline (Nonprofits/Civic Tech Startups Welcome)

The famous tech incubator Y Combinator is now seeking applications from nonprofits and civic tech startups for their summer accelerator program. They are looking specifically for organizations addressing issues around News, Democracy, and the Future of Work. Join a community that includes the ACLU and Airbnb.

Applications are rolling - March 24 at 8 pm is the deadline.

Info: https://blog.ycombinator.com/rfs-news-jobs-and-democracy/

Apply: http://www.ycombinator.com/apply/

Request for Startups: News, Jobs, and Democracy

By Y Combinator, YC News

If you’re working on a startup or non-profit that addresses any of the challenges discussed below, we’d love to see you apply.

News: We’re facing two major issues with news. The first is fake news. The business model for online media rewards the people who get the greatest number of page views, clicks and likes. That results in a system that prizes virality over truth. There are economic incentives for people to post whatever is the most shareable, and now it’s so easy to spin up a fake news site that even teenagers in Eastern Europe are making a living doing it. Building tools for fact-checking and helping people decipher fact from fiction will become increasingly important to keep the electorate informed.

Second is the issue of protecting the freedom of the press. We need an unbiased, independent press to hold people in power accountable. Press also has the responsibility to use its voice and influence to protect those without money and power. We’re looking to fund tools that can help protect and defend journalists and their sources, or new revenue tools that can bolster and sustain independent media organizations.

Future of Work: Jobs will look very different 25 years from now. We’ve already seen a massive shift toward automation, and the pace of technology’s impact on work isn’t slowing down. A study by the World Economic Forum estimates that in the next five years, 5 million jobs in 15 economies will be lost. We’re interested in what comes next. People seek full-time jobs for many reasons, including money, healthcare, and a sense of purpose. We’d love to see solutions that address each of these factors (or any others) in anticipation of a changing job market.

Improving Democracy: There are thousands of ways technology can be applied to improve democracy. For democracy to function effectively, more of us need to be engaged and empowered. We’d like to see startups and non-profits who are using technology to make it easier and more appealing to get involved in the political process, and for that involvement to make an impact. We want technology that makes it easy to understand how new laws and programs impact you and your city’s budget, programs that teach young people and people from underrepresented groups how to run for office, and communication tools that make it easier for citizens to be heard by their representatives. In Summer 2016 we donated to vote.org whose mission is to increase voter registration, and we think there’s more space for organizations solving voting problems too. We’d like to see tools that address problems in the voting process, such as voter suppression and gerrymandering, to name a couple of examples. Tech may be able to make a direct impact by measuring how people’s votes have been diluted, showing how representatives are less responsive to their constituents and empowering citizens to do something about it.

We review applications on a rolling basis. Apply here now.

Internship Opportunities

Internships

Autodesk Foundation Summer 2017 Internships
The Autodesk Foundation supports the people and organizations using design for positive social and environmental impact. The Autodesk Foundation summer internship program runs for ten weeks from June - August 2017. Internship opportunities include: Value Added Services, Impact Assessment, Impact Investment, Sustainability & Foundation Portfolio Investment, Manufacturing Impact Researcher, Data Diving to Understand Customers Inside and Out, Operational Efficiencies Across Customer Lifecycle. Open to everyone, interviews start in January and continue to on a rolling basis through March. Early submissions are prioritized.

Caravan Studios Apps for Social Change Internships
Caravan Studios builds apps for social good that help communities organize, access, and apply local resources to their most pressing problems. It is offering internships in the areas of Product Development, Research and Planning, Communications, and Program Development. Open to everyone, learn more and apply here.

UC Berkeley IPIRA Social Media Intern
The UC Berkeley Office of Intellectual Property and Industry Research Alliances is looking for a social media intern to highlight the work of UC entrepreneurs. The position will require curating and posting relevant UC Entrepreneur success and news stories to a systemwide Twitter page, and developing a network on LinkedIn of UC Entrepreneurs. The intern should be available 10-15 hours/week, and may have to travel to Oakland, on occasion. The position will pay $20/hr. Open to UC Berkeley work study students. Email Akash Bakshi if interested.

[Social Innovation]: J.M.K Innovation Prize

Applications are now being accepted for the 2017 J.M.K. Innovation Prize

Today, The J.M. Kaplan Fund, a New York-based family foundation, is pleased to announce the launch of the 2017 edition of The J.M.K. Innovation Prize. As in 2015, the Prize's inaugural year, up to ten Prizes will be awarded in 2017 to support early stage ideas addressing our country's most pressing social and environmental issues.

Prize recipients will each receive up to three years of support at $50,000 per year, as well as a $25,000 "bank" of funds available for technical assistance or targeted project expenses, making a total award of $175,000. Specifically, the Prize seeks to support social innovation in the fields of the environment, heritage conservation and social justice.

View the one-pager about the 2017 Prize.

Meet our 2015 awardees.

Apply now!

Please help us to spread the word by sharing this announcement with fitting organizations and your broader network. In 2015, we received 1,138 applications from 45 of 50 states. With your assistance, we hope to again attract high quality applications from exceptional idealists from across the country.

The application deadline is April 28, 2017. Please visit www.jmkfund.org or email jmkinnovationprize@jmkfund.org for additional information.