The Semester Project - Your turn to lead.

Semester Project Team Lead positions are now closed for Spring 2008. Please join us for the Semester Project in Fall 2008! If you'd like to be notified about future Semester Projects, and keep up to date with what's happening with Project:Possibility, be sure to subscribe to our Announcement List.

Project:Possibility is looking for motivated, enthusiastic software engineers to participate in a cutting-edge educational program, the Semester Project. As a Software Team Lead, you will guide a team of students in tackling a state of the art assistive technology project over the course of a semester.

Please see the Semester Project Announcement for an overview of this program from a student perspective.

Why be a Software Team Lead for the Semester Project?

Leading a software development team may be in your future career plans, or it may be something that you'd like to try out. Maybe you just want to make a difference. Whichever the case, we can promise that a powerful experience awaits you in the Semester Project.

As a Software Team Lead, you will:

"Hire" your team: You will hand-pick your team of software developers from a pool of university applicants.
Choose a project: We will provide concepts and starting points, you and your team will decide the final direction.
See your project come to life: You will play the lead role in driving your team's project from conception to completion.
Be awarded for effort: At each meeting, we will award entire software teams (which includes Team Leads) for their impressive efforts. In one of our past events, teams were awarded with iPod nanos, software, skateboards, and more.
Make a difference: The software that your team develops will empower people in life, giving them access to new experiences.
Shape the future: You will play a key role in shaping this program for semesters to come.

The Semester Project is bringing together employees from Google, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Amgen, Sun Microsystems, the University of Southern California, and more.

What's the Commitment?

The Spring 2008 pilot program runs from February 13th through April 30th, 2008 (12 weeks). During this time period, you will:

Contribute: A minimum of 6-8 hours per week leading your team, which will involve:
- Online tagups or in-person meetings (you and your team will decide)
- Organizing team efforts
- Knowing your team's code and contributing as you see fit
- Submitting progress reports to the project manager
Attend four meetings: Orientation, two general meetings, and a final meeting at USC (food and prizes provided).
Be accountable: You will be coordinating with the project manager to keep things moving along.
Have fun: Who says we can't have a blast doing great things? We will work together to make this program as fun as it is empowering.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which meetings am I required to attend?

Four general meetings, planned for February 13th, March 12, April 9th, and April 30th at 7:00PM at USC. Parking info and directions to campus will be provided. Food is provided, and teams (maybe yours!) will be awarded prizes based on effort since the last meeting. We will request that teams also meet in person at least once between general meetings.

What if I cannot meet with my team in person (outside of general meetings)?

A telephone conference line will be provided for you and your team. You can also use online meeting tools and email discussion lists.

How do I choose my team?

You will be given a list of applicants and their skillsets by Saturday, February 9th. You will select applicants for your team in order of preference and submit them by Monday, February 11th.

How do I choose a project?

Based on your interests and skillsets, we will send a list of project recommendations to you by Saturday, February 9th.

We will dividing the Semester Project into two project track. Track A: Take on a Project:Possibility concept that is a well defined problem. Examples can be found on our projects page. There are a handful of other projects not mentioned on this list that we will distribute at the same time we distribute the list of applicants (Saturday, February 9th). Track B: Completely new project concepts of your choosing—you and your team define the final project and its requirements. The only requirement: this project must address a specific problem/disability.

What about the SunSPOT and EyeTech hardware (mentioned on the Semester Project page)?

We will provide certain teams access to this hardware. You will receive details on how to request use of this hardware, however we cannot guarentee all teams access to the hardware since we have a finite amount of hardware and time.

Join us!

If this sounds like something you would like to be a part of, please drop an email to semesterproject@projectpossibility.org indicating your interest in the Semester Project. Attach a resume or a summary of your experience and skillsets by Friday, Feburary 8th, 2008.

Also, please save the date for Orientation: Wednesday, February 13th, 7:00PM @ USC

We look forward to hearing from you!