Jacobs Institute Student Newsletter: November 8th, 2024
Jacobs Institute Student Newsletter
UPCOMING@JACOBS
Jacobs Institute-organized events, news, and announcements—straight from the source.
VETERANS DAY WEEKEND MAKERSPACE SCHEDULE
Early Closure for Holiday (close at 3pm): Nov. 8
Academic Holiday (no makerspace access): Nov. 9 – 11
SHOW YOUR WORK AT THE JACOBS WINTER DESIGN SHOWCASE
Per tradition, this semester’s Jacobs Design Showcase will feature DES INV undergraduate courses, Jacobs Hall-affiliated courses as well as courses from the MDes graduate program—BUT ALSO independent projects by students, researchers, clubs, staff and faculty!
Exhibition sessions are 90 minutes long, and through exhibiting you’ll have a chance to 1) user test and 2) receive valuable feedback, and 3) make friends and connections. (And yes, there are sometimes opportunities to show for multiple sessions.)
Priority placement and timing is first come first serve, so apply early if you wish to participate! We will follow up with any answers to questions you might have, as well as a timeslot and other logistics.
ALSO: You can also RSVP now to attend the Showcase on November 11 & 12!
DESIGN FIELD NOTES FALL 2024
Please join us in welcoming another exciting semester of Design Field Notes. As part of our ongoing course DES INV 95, this speaker series invites a dynamic group of designers, artists, and academics in design-related fields to share their work and practice with our students and public.
November 13 | Maya Chen, Product Designer, Cisco Meraki
Maya is passionate about empowering and uniting communities through her creative work. A designer of human connections, Maya is particularly drawn to the mechanics behind the forces that bring people together. In practice, Maya’s skills occupy a sunny corner where storytelling, user-centered design, critical making, and human cognition meet and intertwine.
Her greatest creative challenge today is opening her design vocabulary and toolkit to the technical world of computer networking. As a product designer on Cisco Meraki’s UX team, she contributes to products that fortify wireless networks across the world — connecting millions of people to the Internet and to each other.
Maya lives, works, and occasionally frolics in San Francisco. She attended UC Berkeley, where she holds a B.A. in Cognitive Science and a Master of Design degree.
Each talk is free and open to all students and members of the public! All talks will take place on Zoom Wednesdays, 10 – 11 a.m. PT.
BERKELEY MASTER OF DESIGN: APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN FOR SEPTEMBER 2025
Are you ready to lead the future of design and emerging technologies?
The Berkeley Master of Design (MDes) is a cutting-edge graduate program, combining technical rigor, design theory, and social practice to equip students with the skills needed to shape the 21st century. Co-offered by Berkeley’s College of Engineering and College of Environmental Design, this three-semester program prepares you to innovate with purpose in today’s rapidly evolving tech landscape.
RSVP for admissions events on the MDes website.
FRAMER WORKSHOP: BUILD YOUR OWN PORTFOLIO
Nov 8 from 12:30-1:30pm in Jacobs 10
Crush it with Framer, the rising no-code platform in web design, and build a standout portfolio in 3 weeks flat. Perfect for aspiring designers and developers (React knowledge takes it to the next level)! This workshop will be led by Abe Yang, Motion Designer at DuckDuckGo. Learn more here and RSVP here to reserve a spot!
Perfect for:
Designers — Learn best design practices while learning a new tool. Able to publish directly to the web (unlike Figma)!
Developers — With a bit of React knowledge, you are empowered to do some amazing things!
PORTFOLIO WORKSHOP: BUILD YOUR BRAND WITH WIX AT UC BERKELEY
Nov 12, 2024 at 12pm, VIRTUAL
Register for Zoom meeting here
Are you looking to share your ideas and showcase your creativity online? Maybe you want to launch a business or promote your portfolio? You can achieve all that and more with a Wix website. Join the Wix Higher Education team to learn more about creating your online presence. We’ll cover how to plan a website, how to use the Wix platform, and explore professional design features. And, remember: all attendees receive a one-year FREE Wix premium plan!
UC Berkeley students who attend this workshop will also get the opportunity to earn the new #WixFoundation Certification! Get ahead and get noticed with an industry-accredited certification that verifies your career-ready digital skills. We will cover the application process and requirements in the workshop itself. Note, when registering, please provide your school name and .edu or school email address. Attendees without a school email address will not be allowed into the session.
DESIGN OPPORTUNITIES DIGEST
non-Jacobs Institute-affiliated events, opportunities, and programs—at your fingertips.
Design@Berkeley Designathon THIS SATURDAY
Ready to jump into design? Join Design at Berkeley and Womp for a fast-paced Designathon where we’ll reimagine 3D design together!
Save the date—Saturday, November 9th, 11am-6pm at Jacobs 310! You’ll team up with 3-5 other designers (pre-assigned or matched on the spot) for an exciting design sprint!
This year, we’re opening up Designathon to all college students—not just UC Berkeley! Just make sure you can join us in person at Jacobs Hall.
You don’t want to miss this! Register now for a day packed with creativity, skill-building, networking, raffles, workshops, speakers, and more!
Registration closes Wednesday, Nov 6 at 11:59 PM PST. Register at: http://tinyurl.com/designatberkfa24 !!
ASUC Social Impact Incubator
Deadline: 11/14
ASUC Social Impact Incubator financially supports initiatives that address important issues in and around UC Berkeley, fostering lasting, positive change. Participants can receive up to $10,000 in funding and mentorship through a professional development series with experts across various fields. We accommodate all levels from new ideas to established nonprofits/startups.
Apply here.
SCET Student Innovation Fellows Program and AI Summit
Registration is still open for the SCET Student Innovation Fellows Program, and UC Berkeley students can sign up here. Students are also invited to the AI Summit + Innovation Mixer, a collaborative event hosted by UC Berkeley’s SCET Student Innovation Fellows Program, SCET Innovators in Residence Decal (IIR), and Soma Capital. The event is on Monday, Nov. 18 at 5 p.m. in the Cal Memorial Stadium. This unique gathering will feature a panel of top AI researchers, founders, and industry pioneers who are shaping the future of AI across sectors. Following the panel, a mixer will provide opportunities to connect, network, and collaborate with AI thought leaders, startups, and aspiring innovators. Questions? Please contact Jennifer Nice at jennif...@berkeley.edu.
Google's Product Inclusion & Equity Summit
Deadline 11/10
Apply here.
Google is hosting their second Product Inclusion & Equity Summit on April 10-11th, 2025 in Sunnyvale, CA. The summit will bring together students and professionals from across industries and areas of study who are committed to creating products that are inclusive and equitable for everyone.
The Product Inclusion & Equity Summit is a multi-day experience where students and professionals will learn from experts and leaders across various industries on how to build with equity at the forefront.
How to Get Filthy Rich After Cal with Shaan Puri
Tuesday, November 19 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
RSVP here.
Shaan Puri is a serial entrepreneur and master storyteller. He is the host of popular business podcast My First Million, has 400k+ followers on X and the inventor of the 2-hour lunch break.
Shaan will be talking about storytelling and how to point those skills for big business outcomes. He'll share his tips and techniques with the Fung Fellows this November 19th.
This is a free event. Faculty and students across campus are 100% welcome to join.
Please RSVP so we can manage the room.
For any questions email me at hadd...@berkeley.edu.
USS Hornet Defense Tech Hackathon
Saturday, November 23 10:00 AM - Nov 24, 8:00 PM
RSVP here
Come and build defense tech in a 2-day sprint on a WW2-era Aircraft Carrier, with problems sponsored by active military units looking for functional an in-demand solutions to battlefield problems.
Hack all night and crash in the below-decks bunks for that authentic Navy experience. Food, drink, hardware, and cloud/compute credits are provided for free to all contestants.
A limited number of tickets are available for purchase for people who wish to simply attend, hang out, meet founders, investors, and military personnel.
Hardware Showcase on Nov 24th from 12-5pm is free to attend.
Introducing Adam: Text-to-CAD 3D Prototyping Tool
Jacobs Hall is excited to introduce a pilot program featuring Adam, an innovative text-to-CAD 3D prototyping application.
Starting today Adam is available for free for a limited time to anyone within the Jacobs community by accessing the link below:
Adam converts your ideas into 3D models using simple text prompts, aiming to make the design process more intuitive and accessible. Whether you're an experienced engineer or new to CAD, this tool could enhance your creative workflow.
We've also created a Discord channel for our community to participate in feedback and share their CAD creations. This space will allow you to connect with other users and showcase your work.
Join our Discord community here: https://discord.gg/24acy35VX2
PS. Adam is rapidly evolving so stay tuned for future updates and feature additions. We’re still preparing for Adam for the public release and appreciate your feedback on any bugs you encounter. Don’t hesitate to reach out and happy prototyping!
-Zach and Aaron (Makers from Jacobs)
Adam Text-to-CAD
SCET Innovation Fellows Program
Registration is now open for the SCET Student Innovation Fellows Program! All UC Berkeley students are welcome to join and you can sign up here. Challenges begin next week on September 16th, but registration will be open all semester long!
About the program:
Complete entrepreneurial challenges on your own time to learn new skills, earn points, and win prizes!
With enough points, become an SCET Student Innovation Fellow and earn the SCET Student Innovation Fellow Certificate
Build connections and grow your network
Open to all UC Berkeley students (from all majors and levels!)
Questions? Please contact Jennifer Nice at jennif...@berkeley.edu
Don’t miss out! Subscribe to the Jacobs Student Engagement calendar and keep track of all Jacobs happenings in your bCal. For inquiries regarding weekly newsletters, please contact Janrey Javier at janrey...@berkeley.edu