Applied Social Media Lab (ASML) at Harvard University Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society 2025: (Deadline 1 November, 2024)

Applications are open for the Applied Social Media Lab (ASML) at Harvard University Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society 2025. The Applied Social Media Lab (ASML) invites responsible mid-to-senior-career tech contributors who have an active role in the social media field—or who have recently left a technology firm—to apply for the ASML Fellowship Program. ASML Fellows will engage in a collaborative, interdisciplinary environment to advance technology in the public interest.

The program aims to provide participants the space, time, and connections to develop new approaches to social media technology by advancing projects that prioritize the public interest. During their fellowship, ASML Fellows will drive projects of their own interest and design that connect to one of four existing focus areas, and share their insights with the broader ASML community and beyond. The ASML Fellowship Program offers six-week or four-month timelines for project-based work.

In this fellowship, you will:

• Collaborate with tech experts, civil society advocates, academics, and designers to develop and refine your project.
• Present your project(s) and receive constructive feedback from the ASML community and beyond.
• Engage in regular meetings with the ASML team, gaining access to a network of thought leaders and potential collaborators.
• Participate in synchronous and asynchronous collaborative spaces to share insights and receive support.

Focus Areas

• Area 1: Spaces for civil discourse and collaboration that offer new ways for people to exchange views and deliberate constructively online and that can be adopted by other platforms.
• Area 2: Transparency tools that make detailed information about social media platforms available and understandable to researchers, journalists, civil society organizations, and the general public.
• Area 3: Personalized safety applications that allow individuals, families, and communities to customize their experiences, and protect themselves from online threats and harms across devices and social platforms.
• Area 4: Interoperable software infrastructure to make building social media platforms that support healthy and varied human experiences easier.

Benefits

• For the six-week program, ASML Fellows will receive a total stipend of $5,000. For the four-month program, ASML Fellows will receive a total stipend of $18,000.

Eligibility

• They accept applications from anywhere in the world.
• Applications are welcomed from a wide range of tech professionals passionate about transforming the social media landscape.
• Ideal candidates will have demonstrated at least three years of professional experience in the tech or social media field, and have a proposal for a public interest technology project.
• While experience working at social media companies is preferred, independent contributors with demonstrated impact in the field are encouraged to apply.

Application

They invite prospective participants to apply and include their CV, a two-page project proposal, and responses to a few survey questions. Applicants can select their ideal timeline for participation, with options for a six-week or four-month program (from September to December or February to May).

Click here to apply

For more information, visit Applied Social Media Lab.