BU Spark seeks applications for the Spark! Post-Bacc Fellowship
BU Spark! Placements:
Post-baccalaureate Academic Fellows provide support for four experiential learning courses (two in the fall and two in the spring). In addition to supporting coursework during the academic year, this position continues in the summer with support for a summer internship program and activities related to preparation for the academic year. Fellows will work under the direction of members of the Spark! leadership team and faculty to mentor and coordinate the activities of the undergraduate members of the teaching team (such as product/project managers and technical product/project managers), and perform administrative duties such as working with external partners to scope projects, track project progress and milestones and ensure quality project completion, supervise student project managers and technical project managers, and more. PAFs may also have the opportunity to conduct supervised research with faculty or external partners in their area of interest. Appointments are full-time 9-month positions (Sept. 1 2024 until May 31 2025), with the possibility of renewal for one additional term, based on performance, interest, and institutional need. PAF compensation for the 2024-2025 academic year is $63,000 paid over nine months and benefits as described here: https://www.bu.edu/hr/employee-resources/benefits/
In addition, there will be guaranteed summer work for additional pay of $21,000 (June 1, 2024 – August 31, 2024. The summer work is in addition and is not base salary.
To apply, please submit an application at this link: http://tinyurl.com/sparkpostbacc, which will include a letter of interest (including an outline of career objectives and any experience with Spark! and relevant project oversight, teaching or research experience), a current CV, and the names of two references.
The deadline to submit all materials is April 1, 2024 but review of applicants will begin immediately and decisions will be made on a rolling basis.
Detailed Responsibilities and Opportunities include:
Spark! Post-Baccalaureate Fellows will provide project and course support for a portfolio of Spark! managed practicum courses under the CAS CS department, and the Faculty of Computing and Data Sciences. These courses make up the Spark! X-Lab which serves students from computer science and cognate departments.
- Project Development: Supporting project requirements gathering by engaging with clients to define goals, success metrics, researching relevant papers and case studies to guide methods, collecting and researching data sets, and compiling all relevant background information for X-Lab projects within a specific portfolio of courses.
- Project Implementation: Mentor and coordinate activities of the undergraduate members of the teaching team (product/project managers and technical product/project managers) to successfully guide student teams through the project implementation process, including meeting core milestones, engagement with external clients, ensuring a quality experience for partners and students and successful achievement of project goals and deliverables. This includes hosting weekly check-ins and office hours for members of the course instruction team and student teams.
- Operational Oversight: Manage administrative tasks for project implementation and team support including the setup and management of trello, slack communication channels, github, etc. Collaborate with course instructors and Spark! staff throughout the semester, participating in student interviews, hiring, evaluations, and support.
- Summer Term: Supporting the Spark! Team to prepare for the academic year, work actively alongside student teams on exploratory applied research projects, pursue independent research.
Fellows will be provided with approximately 10% time to pursue independent research or coursework. Strong preference will be given to students who have worked on projects or as a PM/ TPM in BU Spark!’s X-Lab – through courses or internships.
Apply for Spark! post-baccalaureate positions at tinyurl.com/sparkpostbacc. Questions can be directed to buspark@bu.edu