Fall 2020
Our Fall 2020 program aimed to support a cohort of BIPOC students from all around the world in their adventures in learning how to code for their research and careers in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.
Cohort Overview
BIPOC Undergrads and Grad Students Worldwide
Our goal was to provide primarily BIPOC students from around the world an opportunity to learn how to code in order to increase their interest in Biology and coding. From California to New York and Ghana to Guam, participants met virtually around the world to learn coding together!
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Focus
Our Fall 2020 cohort was designed with Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in mind. Readings and webinars with guest speakers in the field were provided and opportunities were announced for those who were interested in the field and who were taking part in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology research.
Focus on the R Programming Language
Due to its uses in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology fields, our Fall SCIP cohort focused on only one programming language: R. This was implemented in order to provide more support in learning the R language while integrating the focus on Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.
4-5 hrs/wk for 12 weeks Throughout Semester
With the knowledge that many of our participants would be taking courses throughout the semester, SCIP's commitment time changed to 4-5 hours per week for the fall. This was to allow participants to focus on their academics and careers, while still providing time for teams to meet based on their availability.
Participants
Of the participants who participated in the pre- and post-program surveys, 89% of participants are majoring in Biology, Chemistry, or Biochemistry or work in one of those departments.
In SCIP Summer 2020, over 50% of our participants were undergraduate students. ~38% were graduate students and ~10% were faculty, staff, or post-bacc students.
No coding experience was required to join our program. From our participant demographics, >75% of our participant population had 1 semester or less of previous coding experience.
WHAT PARTICIPANTS SAY
Overall, I thought this program was a great start in my journey of learning R. I was able to set aside time each week to actually work on problems instead of pushing it off for later. It was also nice being in a group with other BIPOC students working on R.
I loved that it was a "go at your own pace" environment because some weeks allowed for more time to focus on Udacity than others. It was less stressful than having to worry about weekly assignment deadlines.
I absolutely LOVED this program and continue to communicate with the people in my group to this day. We all agreed to stay in contact and exchanged information to be able to follow one another as we advance in our careers.
Meet the Admin Team
Pleuni Pennings
Founder & Faculty Advisor
Ryan Fergusson
Administrator & Instructor
Olivia Pham
Co-Founder & Administrator
Rochelle-Jan Reyes
Co-Founder & Administrator
Megumi Fuse
Faculty Advisor
Sarah Cohen
Faculty Advisor