Worldwide there are an estimated 4.5 million people who are victims of sex trafficking, and far too often, the victims are closer than you’d think. That’s where project EPIK, “Everyman Protecting Innocent Kids,” steps in. Birthed in 2012, the project is combatting the demand for commercial sex. “Sex trafficking involves exploiting the vulnerable and the buyers […]
When you reflect back on your college journey, it might prove difficult to recall every single class you took. Yet when the work from your class ends up published on CBS Boston, it’s easy to classify that course as transformative. This sentiment is echoed throughout the Justice Media co-Lab. Students like Mahmoud Khalil, Data Science […]
If you went to NextTech 2021, you can attest to the fact that you walked away with something. “Come curious and leave inspired,” was the motto leading up to the event, but attendees gained more than inspiration. Our industry experts transformed an average Friday afternoon into what could serve as the stepping stone into students […]
From working on and creating groundbreaking computational and data-driven projects, Spark! students are not only growing their technical expertise — but leadership skills as well. Savannah Majarwitz has cemented her legacy at Spark! as a Forced Migration and Human Trafficking Co-Lab Project Manager. The International Relations junior, who admits that she’s non-technical, credits Spark! with helping […]
Words hold power and weight – disproportionately impacting Black, Indigenous, and people of color. “People claim that words don’t matter, yet they literally affect the way people are treated,” said Spark! Fellow Shateva Long. “Racial bias is found all throughout medical textbooks and it is negatively affecting the lives of women of color, especially Black […]
If artificial intelligence is the future, why does AI seemingly fall short when it comes to biases embedded in its algorithms? Coded Bias’ Director Shalini Kantayya took to the Spark! virtual stage this month to explore this question and more during a Q&A following the exclusive screening of her documentary that premiered at Sundance Film […]
Looking back on 2020 and how the Spark! community rallied together, one of the highlights is easily NextTech. The two-day event allowed our student innovators and technology’s most influential leaders to come together and explore how emerging technologies can help solve real-world problems. Whether it was through panel discussions, mini-workshops, or the networking opportunities, students […]
In a whirlwind of a year that could’ve gotten to the best of us, Demo Day was a reminder that the Spark! community is just as resilient as ever. Every one of the participants demonstrated perseverance in the face of adversity. How else do you explain how they spent an entire semester developing fully functioning […]
2020 magnified several faults in our system that have existed for ages — xenophobia, racism, classism, among countless other defects. A single hackathon paved the way to addressing those issues head on. Spark!’s Resiliency Challenge allowed students, mentors, partners and alike from around the globe to develop innovation which addresses challenges associated with COVID-19. Project […]
A rescinded job offer, graduation plans cancelled and little to zero social contact – can leave even the most positive people – at a loss. This was the case for computer science graduate student and Spark! software engineering TA, Asad Malik. “What I noticed was that a lot of my friends were going through similar […]