Anyone can apply to SPAR! Past SPAR mentees have ranged from undergraduates to professionals. SPAR projects often require a solid foundation in programming and machine learning, and for some, knowledge in AI Safety/Alignment. However, we expect most mentees will be relatively new to research. As long as you have the specific technical skills needed for a project, we're excited to hear from you!

Even if you do not entirely meet these criteria, we encourage you to apply! Several past mentees have been accepted even though they didn’t completely match a projects criteria.

SPAR mentees typically spend 4 to 20+ hours a week depending on the project. SPAR is unique in that it requires a smaller time commitment than other research programs which allows individuals who work or are in school to skill up in their spare time.

Yes! Our application allows you to select multiple projects in one application! Due to short turnaround times for projects, be prepared to interview for or accept projects on short notice.

SPAR does not have an official policy on how many projects a mentee can take on. However, if we notice you have accepted multiple projects with a total time commitment of greater than 30 hours per week, a SPAR organizer will reach out to make sure you can sustain that commitment.

By default, SPAR groups will operate just on the scale of 3 months. However, many teams choose to collaborate beyond this period. While SPAR primarily helps form project groups, continuing research with the same team outside of SPAR is common, although using SPAR for ongoing projects can be beneficial for adding new members.

The SPAR application allows you to name other applicants you’d like to work with. However, every applicant will be judged on their individual merits, but we will remind mentors to keep your considerations in mind while making project placements.

SPAR mentees aren’t currently compensated. We are exploring possible funding options for participants, but you should assume for the current round of projects there will be no changes to this.

SPAR is considering hosting programming such as socials and upskilling events in the near future. If you have ideas about possible programming please reach out to sparexec@gmail.com with “socials” or “upskilling events” in the subject line.

Try to be communicative and transparent with mentors and other mentees. We understand that issues and emergencies come up, just try to communicate them ASAP with project groups.

Please use the Slack workspace respectfully. Try to be kind and use appropriate language when communicating with others in the workspace. Be thoughtful about what you post in the chat, and avoid sending irrelevant messages, advertisements, or excessive self-promotion.

While expectations will normally be set by mentors, accepted applicants are generally expected to:

• Have weekly meetings with project team. It'll be up to your team to coordinate meeting times or create co-working systems.

• Have weekly or biweekly meetings with mentors. The format of check-ins with your supervisor will be to their discretion.
  

• Communicate with mentors and team members regularly through some accessible platform (e.g., Slack, Discord, Signal, Whatsapp, etc.)
  

• Have some task management system set up to keep track of what they need to do.