HUB XC475: Spark! Technology Innovation Fellowship Course

Applications are OPEN for Fall 2024 | Mondays from 2:30 — 5:15 PM, including required events outside of class time*

If you have a project you want to build or take to the next level but don’t know where to start, XC475 will help you take your project from an idea to a working prototype in one semester. If you don’t have an idea but want to join a student-driven innovation project, this course is for you too. In this course — exclusively for students with a computing and data science or UX design background — you will work through Spark!’s structured product innovation process with technical support from Spark! experts and industry mentors. An application and interviews are required for registration to this course for all prospective students.

This course is taught by Ziba Cranmer, director of Spark!, James Grady, associate professor of graphic design, and Asad Malik, software engineer at the Hariri Institute for computing.

This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following Hub areas: Creativity/ Innovation, Teamwork/ Collaboration, Oral and Signed Communication, Research and Information Literacy. Additionally, this course counts toward Innovate@BU’s Innovation & Entrepreneurship minor, the experience requirement for the College of Engineering’s Technology Innovation Concentration, and Group D CS Requirement.

Roles

You can apply to join the course in any of the following roles:

  • Technical Innovator: You have a project idea you want to pursue or a problem you want to solve and you have the relevant technical experience.
  • Technical Teammates: You want to join a team or are already part of a team and you have the relevant technical experience.
  • UX Design Innovator: You have a project idea you want to pursue and you have relevant design experience.
  • UX Design Teammate: You want to join a team or are already part of a team and you have the relevant design experience.

Qualifications

  • Technical students should be proficient in a major programming language (Python, Java, JavaScript, C++, C, etc.). Prior software engineering or data science project experience (through classes, internships, hackathons, or personal projects) is strongly preferred. Students are assumed to have the technical skills needed to build their product. 
  • UX design students should be competent in graphic design principles and be proficient in a majority of design software programs (Adobe XD, Sketch, Figma, etc.). 

Students accepted into the program are required to attend six additional mandatory sessions:

  • Dates TBD
Apply Here

Application process

  1. Submit an application.
  2. Add the course to your Class Scheduler (This course required Dept. Permission to apply, you will NOT be able to register yourself.)
  3. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. (You are encouraged to apply as early as possible; seats fill up quickly.)
  4. If your application moves forward, you will be invited to schedule an interview with the relevant Spark! team member.
  5. Spark! will notify you of your application status by the following dates, depending on your application and interview date:
  • Applicants will be provided with an update no later than April 19th (or May 10th if applying after April 19th)

Juniors and seniors will be given priority enrollment. Successful applicants will be registered for the course by Spark!. If you are not accepted, we encourage you to reapply next semester.

     

    *Course offerings and times are subject to change.