Summer Research Institute
The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute (SKERI) is seeking applications for its inaugural Summer Research Institute. This program is designed to provide training for blind and visually impaired students and recent graduates interested in learning skills that will prepare them to participate in research careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) within industry, government, non-profit organizations or academia.
In today’s research climate, individuals are expected to have many skills at their fingertips. Often researchers are required to build software and hardware environments to run studies, to gather and analyze data and to prepare reports and papers for academic journals. For blind and visually impaired (BVI) individuals making their way through undergraduate and graduate degrees there may not be time or resources to support them in finding accessible tools or methods to acquire the variety of skills they need.
Acknowledging this, the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute has obtained support from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDDLR) through a Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center grant, to pilot and run a series of summer research institutes that aim to bridge this gap.
There is a rapidly growing world-wide community of BVI people taking on leadership roles as researchers in industry, government, academia and the non-profit sector. The Summer Research Institute will draw on this community to build a faculty team that can respond to the needs identified through this application process, in order to deliver training through a program that is born-accessible.
This summer, SKERI will run a limited pilot SRI program from Tuesday June 20 to Friday June 30. We are currently seeking applications for this program from anyone in the BVI community who is interested in acquiring skills to further a career in STEM.
Support for participants will include accommodation near Smith-Kettlewell and funding for travel to and from San Francisco. A Limited number of scholarships will also be available to cover daily expenses such as meals.
The closing date for applications is Monday 1st May 2023. Applicants must be 18 years or older in order to be eligible to participate.
If you wish to be considered for this year’s program, please follow this link to the application form.
