What is NYC Generation Tech?

Transcription

1 Application Form Priority Deadline: 5:00PM, Friday, April 4, 2014 Regular Deadline: 5:00PM, Friday, May 2, 2014 What is NYC Generation Tech? NYC Generation Tech (GenTech) is a tech-entrepreneurship program that provides hands-on learning experiences and mentorship opportunities for New York City high school students interested in transforming the world through tech-based innovations. Developed by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), the New York City Economic Development Corporation, and supported by Microsoft and other major partners, the program is designed to educate and inspire students to pursue careers in entrepreneurship and technology. GenTech s 11-week summer program has three main components: 1. Summer Programming: In a two-week tech-entrepreneurship bootcamp, students learn about technology fundamentals, including computer programming and 3D printing, as well as how to write a business plan and lean startup methodologies. Students develop basic knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and form teams to develop a mobile app and business plan aimed at improving education or the quality of city life for NYC students. Using the foundational skills from the bootcamp, students focus on building out their mobile app and business plans for another six weeks with a mix of evening mentoring sessions and group and independent work. Throughout the summer, students are exposed to the NYC tech startup ecosystem through guest speakers and field trips. (July-August) 2. Mentorship & Enterprise Discovery: Students receive mentorship from local business/technology undergraduate and graduate students during the bootcamp phase. After the bootcamp, each student team is paired with a small team of Tech Mentors from industry-leading tech and business organizations. For 6-weeks, Tech Mentors provide support, insight, and guidance to students to develop their app and business plan during evening mentoring sessions. Mentoring sessions are held at various tech-related companies throughout NYC.

2 3. Demo Night & Awards Ceremony: In September, students demo and pitch their finished apps and business plans to a panel of prominent judges from the technology and venture capitalist community at a Semi-Finals competition. Top teams move on and pitch at Demo Night. Members of the winning team receive cash prizes and all students are honored at an awards ceremony. Program Schedule July 2014 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday (9:00-5:00 ) (9:00-5:00 ) Evening Mentoring 1 In-Person day Evening Mentoring day (10:00-4:00) Coding Evening Mentoring 3 In-Person day Evening Mentoring 4 August 2014 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday day (10:00-4:00) Coding Evening Mentoring 5 In-Person day Evening Mentoring day (10:00-4:00) Coding Evening Mentoring 7 In-Person day Evening Mentoring day (10:00-4:00) Coding Evening Mentoring 9 In-Person day Evening Mentoring day (10:00-4:00) Coding Evening Mentoring 11 In-Person day Evening Mentoring 12 September 2014 Semi-Final Competition: September 11 th, 2014 Final Competition Demo Night: September 18 th, 2014

3 Eligibility and Application Process Applicant Requirements GenTech is committed to serving NYC high school students from low-income communities. The applicant must: 1. Plan to attend a NYC high school during the school year Note: Due to the rigor and demands of the program, preference will be given to rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors. 2. Demonstrate economic or educational disadvantage based on the below criteria: a. Applicant attends a NYC high school with a Free and Reduced Price Lunch (FRPL) rate of 50% or higher or b. Applicant qualifies for FRPL but attends a NYC high school with a FRPL rate below 50%. Documentation of FRPL qualification must be provided with application materials (e.g. copy of FRPL application). Application Process Applicants will be chosen by the strength of their academic history and past leadership experiences, their demonstrated interest in GenTech s topics, and their ability to collaboratively solve problems in a team setting. There is a limited amount of space for this program, so please take your time to put together a well thought-out application. Upon receiving your application materials, your application will be carefully reviewed. Applicants will then be assigned to one of three categories: immediate acceptance, immediate rejection, or waitlisted. Students who are waitlisted may be asked to interview with the Recruitment Team. Please see the table below for application deadlines. Application Deadline Notification of Application Status Priority Deadline Applicants 5:00PM EST, April 4, 2014 April 21, 2014 Regular Deadline Applicants 5:00PM EST, May 2, 2014 May 12, 2014 Submitting Your Application Completed applications must be submitted through the online form found at Please note that for your application to be considered complete you must have submitted all of your materials and your recommender must have submitted all of their materials. If you have any questions about how to submit your application, please the GenTech Recruitment Team at NYCGenerationTech@nfte.com or call , ext. 383.

4 Section A. Personal Information Full Name: Preferred name, if different from above: Date of Birth (mm/dd/yyyy): Male: Female: Name of High School: Grade Level for School Year (next school year): Which college or university do you most want to attend? What major would you most like to pursue? Home Address: Apt #: City: State: Zip Code: Student s Home Phone: Student s Cell: Name of Parent/Guardian: Parent/Guardian s Parent/Guardian s Cell: Your background in coding will not have any bearing on your application status, but we want to learn about your past experience with coding. Please check each box below that applies to you. Taken a computer science course in school Participated in an out of school coding program (Girls Who Code, CSTUY, etc.) Completed online coding coursework (Codecademy, Treehouse, etc.) Other: How did you hear about the GenTech Summer Program? School (teacher, coordinator, administrator, etc.) Out of school program (Girls Who Code, CSTUY, etc.) News (NY Post, Daily News, NY1, etc.) GenTech , newsletter, or event (Demo Night, hackathon, etc.) A friend or peer Social media Other:

5 Section B. Academic History Please gather the following information from your guidance counselor or school administrator: 1. A copy of your high school transcript that shows your cumulative GPA. An unofficial copy will be accepted. 2. A copy of your school attendance record for the school year. An unofficial copy will be accepted. Section C. Essay Questions Please answer ALL of the following questions by typing a response to each question in 12- point, Times New Roman font, double spaced. 1. Why are you interested in participating in GenTech? Why should you be accepted to the program? Please explain your reasoning in detail. ( words) 2. For each of the following qualities, rate yourself on a scale from 1-5 in comparison to your peers (see scale below) and explain the rating, including one example in each explanation: ( words for each lettered section below) Top 10% Good Average Below Average Poor a. Leadership i. What is your numerical rating? ii. Describe a time when you demonstrated leadership. b. Perseverance i. What is your numerical rating? ii. Describe a time when you demonstrated perseverance how did you handle a challenging situation and overcome it? c. Teamwork i. What is your numerical rating? ii. Describe a time when you demonstrated teamwork. 3. What is a problem you would like to solve using technology? In your response: ( words total) a. Clearly describe the problem. b. Explain your solution and how it solves this problem. c. Describe why your solution is more effective than existing solutions.

6 Application Checklist Personal info High school transcript that shows cumulative GPA (unofficial records are accepted) Attendance record for the school year (unofficial records are accepted) Three essays Recommendation submitted by a teacher, coach, program administrator, employer, or other adult (cannot be a relative). Proof of FRPL qualification (only if your high school has a FRPL rate below 50%) I hereby certify that the information above is accurate to the best of my knowledge. Signature Date

7 Recommendation Form Applicant: Your recommender should be an adult who knows you in a professional, academic, or volunteer context and can relate specific and relevant details about your performance, skills, and unique abilities (i.e., a teacher, coach, program administrator, employer, or other adult). Relatives may not provide a recommendation. Recommender: NYC Generation Tech (GenTech) is a technology, entrepreneurship, and mentorship program for high school students from under-resourced communities in NYC. The program invests in the city s homegrown talent and is designed to educate and inspire students to pursue careers in entrepreneurship and technology. GenTech has three main components: 1. Summer Programming: In a two-week tech-entrepreneurship bootcamp, students learn about technology fundamentals, including computer programming and 3D printing, as well as how to write a business plan and lean startup methodologies. Students develop basic knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and form teams to develop a mobile app and business plan aimed at improving education or the quality of city life for NYC students. Using the foundational skills from the bootcamp, students focus on building out their mobile app and business plans for another six weeks with a mix of evening mentoring sessions and group and independent work. Throughout the summer, students are exposed to the NYC tech startup ecosystem through guest speakers and field trips. (July-August) 2. Mentorship & Enterprise Discovery: Students receive mentorship from local business/technology undergraduate and graduate students during the bootcamp phase. After the bootcamp, each student team is paired with a small team of Tech Mentors from industry-leading tech and business organizations. For 6-weeks, Tech Mentors provide support, insight, and guidance to students to develop their app and business plan during evening mentoring sessions. Mentoring sessions are held at various tech-related companies throughout NYC.

8 3. Demo Night & Awards Ceremony: In September, students demo and pitch their finished apps and business plans to a panel of prominent judges from the technology and venture capitalist community at a Semi-Finals competition. Top teams move on and pitch at Demo Night. Members of the winning team receive cash prizes and all students are honored at an awards ceremony. For more information on the program, visit Submitting Your Recommendation Please submit your recommendation by completing the e-form that was sent to you via . If a student has contacted you to let you know that they have listed you as their recommender but you have not received a message with submission instructions, please the GenTech Recruitment Team at NYCGenerationTech@nfte.com or call , ext Also, please feel free to reach out with any other questions you may have. Recommendations must be received by: 5:00 pm, April 4, 2014 for Priority Deadline applicants, and 5:00 PM, May 2, 2014 for Regular Deadline applicants.

9 Please answer the following questions by typing a response to each question. Thank you for your candid assessment of the applicant s abilities. 1. Basic Information a. Recommender Name b. Recommender s c. Recommender s Phone Number d. Student s Name e. Student s 2. What is your relationship to the application? How long have you known him or her? 3. In comparison to other students in his or her class year, how do you rate this applicant in the following areas: Top 10% Good Average Below Average Poor No Basis Leadership Perseverance Teamwork Professional Maturity Quantitative Analysis Oral Communication Written Communication 4. In support of your ratings for the first 3 categories listed in Question 2, describe a situation in which the applicant demonstrated the stated competency in your class, the school, and/or community: a. Leadership b. Perseverance c. Teamwork 5. Why do you feel that this applicant should be accepted to NFTE s NYC Generation Tech program? 6. What challenges, if any, do you foresee the applicant encountering during the course of the program? 7. Please write any additional information you would like to share about this student. We welcome all information that will help us to differentiate this student from others. I hereby certify that the information provided above is accurate to the best of my knowledge. Signature Date