Application for the 2024 program is now open! See below for the schedule of the key dates.
OpenDP Visiting Fellows are part-time positions meant for engineers or scholars in industry or academia who wish to learn about and engage with the OpenDP software suite, bringing this knowledge back to their own work or organization, while also contributing to OpenDP in the process. During their fellowship, OpenDP Visiting Fellows will generally be supported by their own institution (e.g. being “detailed” by their company to OpenDP or using sabbatical pay). For Visiting Fellows from industry, we expect a contribution of additional financial support for the program and OpenDP, detailed below.
The fellowship term will include participation in a seminar on approaches to and challenges in deploying differential privacy and the basics of the OpenDP software suite. There will also be many opportunities to collaborate with the OpenDP team through synchronous working sessions and asynchronous communication.
The start and end dates of the program are listed below, but alternate dates can be considered. Applications should include a proposal of one or two projects that will be the fellow’s focus. Fellows can work remotely for the entire duration of the program. We may provide co-working space on site at Harvard as an option, following the COVID-19 restrictions and policies at Harvard.
This is an employer-sponsored program, meaning the participant remains fully employed at the employer for the duration of the program, while devoting at least 20% of their time to the fellowship activities. The employer sponsors the participant's work in this program and covers the pertinent expenses, such as the program fee and any program-related travel and lodging. The program fee of $15,000 is applicable to participants from industry and is waived for those from academia.
Key Dates of the OpenDP Fellows Program, Summer 2024:
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Friday, January 19, 2024 - Early Application Deadline
- Applications received after this date will be reviewed on a rolling basis and decisions made based on capacity.
- Friday, February 16, 2024 - Decisions sent for the applications received by January 19, 2024
- Friday, March 1, 2024 - Rolling deadline for applications (EXTENDED!)
- Monday, June 3, 2024 - Program Start
- Friday August 9, 2024 - Program Ends
The OpenDP Fellows Program is structured as follows:
- Onboarding - Once enrolled, the Fellow will meet with our faculty and staff to go over a detailed program plan tailored to the Fellow's goals in this program.
- Planning - The Fellow will present the project(s) to the core OpenDP team, who will help determine the best path to incorporate the work into the current OpenDP workstream and/or collaboration with others in the community.
- Execution - The Fellow will work on the project(s) as part of the OpenDP team. The Fellow will have the opportunity to participate in the seminar series, join team meetings related to their project(s), and give one or two mid-way presentations on the progress of their projects.
- Completion - The Fellow will present the completed project(s) to a wider audience that includes the OpenDP faculty, core team, staff, community members, and colleagues from Fellow's organization. If the outcome of the project is open-source software, the completed code will undergo the standard vetting process for OpenDP code contributions.
OpenDP is dedicated to building a diverse community that is welcoming for everyone, regardless of disability, gender identity and expression, physical appearance, race, religion, or sexual orientation. In particular, we encourage applications from members of underrepresented groups.