Scholars Applications

Scholars Applications

Here you’ll find everything you need to know to apply—from who’s eligible, to how groups are formed, to what the application process looks like. You can also check out the recording and slides from our recent  information sessions⁠ !

Clipboard Scholars Eligibility Criteria

1. Completion of the most recent Academy Course

  • Applicants must have successfully completed the most recent Academy course in their chosen domain as a student or Teaching Assistant.
  • Course completion is validated through certification, confirming successful completion of both tutorials and projects.
  • Teaching Assistants are eligible to participate as equal collaborators in project teams.
  • Scholars may only participate in the ISP within the same domain as their Academy course (e.g., completing the Academy in Computational Neuroscience allows applying only to the ISP in Computational Neuroscience).

2. Team Participation

  • The ISP is a collaborative effort. All applicants must be part of a team.
  • Individual applications will not be considered.
  • Teams may consist of 2–6 members, with 4 members recommended for the best collaborative experience. Each applicant may only be part of one team.

3. Commitment to the Program

  • Scholar teams must commit a minimum of 5 hours per week for a six-month period.
  • All team members should ensure they can consistently meet this time requirement alongside their other responsibilities.

4. Motivation and Fit

We seek scholar teams who not only have a strong technical foundation but also clear and realistic goals for how the program will support their research interests or career development.

People Holding Hands Group Formation: July 27 – August 17

Teams may choose to work on one of the following:
    Continue a project you started during the Academy
    Join a different Academy project that better aligns with your interests, goals, or skills
    Join a  🤝⁠⁠Partner Projects⁠  shared by one of our partner organizations. For the 2026 cohort, Partner Projects are only available to scholars from the Computational Neuroscience and Computational Tools for Climate Science courses.

Magnifying Glass Tilted Left How to Find a Team

    Explore available projects – Browse the project galleries (Academy & Partners) to find a project of interest.
    Academy Gallery (available 27 July)
    Partner Gallery
    Join the #ISP-group-formation channel on Discord – A channel for scholars to find collaborators, recruit additional team members, and discuss project ideas. When introducing yourself in this channel, consider sharing:
  • Which project(s) interest you and why
  • What questions or ideas you would like to explore
  • Relevant skills or experience you could contribute
  • Your time zone and general availability
    Reach out and start conversations – Once you identify a project or potential teammates, we encourage you to continue the conversation through Discord threads, direct messages, or other communication channels agreed upon by the group. Finding the right team is often an iterative process. Don't hesitate to ask questions, learn more about a project, and discuss expectations before committing.
    Organize your team independently – Once a team begins to form, members should discuss:
  • Project goals and expectations
  • Communication preferences and tools
  • Meeting schedules and availability
  • Individual contributions and responsibilities
Earth Globe Europe-Africa Scholars should be mindful of time zones when forming teams, and have overlapping hours for smoother communication.
Hammer and Wrench Defining Roles and Contributions: Teams do not need to assign formal titles, but it can be helpful to discuss who will take the lead on different aspects of the project. Examples include:
  • Literature review and background research
  • Data acquisition and collection
  • Data cleaning and preparation
  • Data analysis and modeling
  • Data visualization
  • Software development and coding
  • Writing and editing
  • Project coordination and meeting facilitation
As the project progresses, teams are encouraged to document contributions using the  CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy)  framework, which is widely used in scholarly publishing and will help streamline authorship and contribution statements for the final micropublication.

Memo Applications: August 18 – September 3

To submit a complete application, your team must include:
    Motivational Statement: Scholar teams must submit a statement explaining:
  • Why they are interested in the Impact Scholars Program
  • How their skills and experiences make them a strong fit for their selected project
  • What they hope to achieve
    Slide deck — follow these rules:
    Format: PowerPoint (.ppt/.pptx), or an equivalent (.odp/.pdf)
    Content: Clearly cover each component of your proposal
    Length: Max 6 slides
    Video submission — follow these rules:
    Purpose: Explain the content of your slide deck
    Duration: Max 5 minutes
    Recording: One or multiple team members—your choice
    Format: Share a link or upload a common format (e.g., MP4)


Spiral Calendar Key Dates & Process

  • Early July: The Partner Project Gallery will be published on Discord.
  • July 15: ISP Information Session Slot 1
  • July 23: ISP Information Session Slot 2
  • July 24 (last day of the Academy): Each Academy project group will submit their project slides through the Project Submission Form. This form will also include an opportunity for students and TAs to indicate whether they are interested in participating in the ISP.
  • July 27: The Academy Project Gallery will be published on Discord.
  • July 27 – August 17: During this period, students interested in joining the Impact Scholars Program must form their own teams.
  • August 18: Applications Open!
  • September 3: Application deadline at 23:59 Anywhere on Earth – AoE.
  • By the end of September: Scholar teams selected and applicants notified


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