About this Event
Join us for an immersive and interactive experience at Boston University's Experiential Learning Expo featuring the Duan Family Spark! Initiative's Demo Day!
The Expo, presented by Boston University’s Undergraduate Affairs, will showcase student projects undertaken as part of the Cross-College Challenge, the Duan Family Spark! Initiative, the Launchpad Internship Program, the Learning Assistant Program, and the Yawkey Internship Program. For more event details, visit bu.edu/expo.
Program Highlights:
3-5 pm, floor 1
The BU Cross-College Challenge (XCC) is the Hub’s signature interdisciplinary project-based, 4-credit elective course open to juniors and seniors from all of BU’s undergraduate schools and colleges. The XCC engages students in team projects that address a real-world problem or an enduring human question. During this event, student teams will present their final projects as part of the following Cross-College Challenge courses:
HUB XC 411 Back to the Past: Gaming and Design for Immersive Role Play
HUB XC 422 Exploring Walkability in Boston
HUB XC 437 Environmental Justice and Urban Tree Canopies
HUB XC 473 Spark! Justice Media Co-Lab
HUB XC 475 Spark! Technology Innovation Fellowship
HUB XC473: Spark! Justice Media co-Lab (JMCL) and HUB XC475: Spark! Technology Innovation Fellowship Course will present as part of BU Spark! Demo Day.
3-5 pm, floor 1
Launchpad is Boston University’s Presidential Initiative providing BU’s rising sophomores with early workplace experience. Housed in the Center for Career Development, Launchpad is a 10-week summer program that offers students key professional development support and a real-world learning environment through an internship aligned with their career interests. Students build professional connections with mentors and colleagues to support their next steps at BU and beyond.
Learn about Launchpad and meet internship alumnae who will share their experiences working at three different internship sites this summer: Boston Medical Center (Access and Optimization internship), the Museum of Science (Living Laboratory internship), and the Rose Kennedy Greenway (Finance internship). Learn about Launchpad and BU’s exciting new internship program!
3-5 pm, floor 1
Students completing their first semester as Learning Assistants will showcase their final projects by redesigning a small aspect of the course they taught. Projects combine the pedagogical theory learned throughout the semester with the in-class, experiential practice of teaching.
Come hear how undergraduates are helping their peers in Learning Assistant (LA)-supported courses across biology, chemistry, earth and environment, engineering, mathematics, neuroscience, and physics.
4-5:20 pm, floor 2: On-stage presentations that shine a spotlight on the Innovation Fellowship program and highlight a project from each X-Lab practicum course, plus a Spark! community showcase team
5:30-7 pm, floor 1: Three rounds of ePosterBoard sessions where every team will present a digital display of their work and answer questions about their experiences
Spark! Demo Day is an opportunity for students participating in Duan Family Spark! Initiative courses and programs to showcase their work to members of the BU community and to our partners from industry and civil society who engage with Spark! as project sponsors, instructors, and mentors.
Guests will have the opportunity to hear student presentations, visit project demo stations during ePosterBoard sessions, and vote for their favorite projects for the Audience Engagement Award. Winners will be announced at 6:55 pm on floor 1.
XCC and Spark! X-Lab classes that will be featured at BU Spark! Demo Day include:
HUB XC475: Spark! Technology Innovation Fellowship Course
HUB XC473: Spark! Justice Media co-Lab (JMCL)
CDS DS488/688: Spark! UX Design X-Lab Practicum
CDS DS519 / CAS CS519: Spark! Software Engineering X-Lab Practicum
CDS DS539: Spark! Data Science Practicum
CDS DS549 / CAS CS549: Spark! Machine Learning X-Lab Practicum
CDS DS594: Spark! Data Visualization X-Lab Practicum
CDS DS701: Spark! Tools for Data Science X-Lab Practicum
3-5 pm, floor 1
Boston University’s Yawkey Nonprofit Internship Program is a selective program for undergraduate students from rising sophomores to first-semester seniors that provides a living allowance stipend to support participation in unpaid internships at nonprofit organizations and an educational framework that helps students plan for, engage in, and reflect on their internships.
Nine Yawkey Program students will be showcasing their internships at nonprofit organizations in Boston and beyond, including the New England Aquarium, the UN Association of Greater Boston, Amputee Blade Runners, Boston Children’s Hospital, and the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus.
Event venue & nearby stays
Boston University Center for Computing and Data Sciences (CDS), 665 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, United States
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