Computing for Social Good on Your Campus

Computing for social good is an expanding focus for many computing departments. For some, computing for social good aligns with their missions, while for others it is a way to broaden students' views of the field. Having students work on an issue on their campus or in their community provides them with a topic that may be familiar, or a client that may be more accessible. It empowers them to make a difference at their school and help others in a concrete and meaningful way. Examples of campus-based computing for social good initiatives are LibreFoodPantry (on-campus food pantries), FarmData (college run organic farm) and OpenEnergyDashboard (on-campus energy utilization). These open source projects allow students to contribute to a campus-based need while at the same time learning valuable project management skills, teamwork, version control and much more.

The organizers of this BoF are faculty members involved in open source software that addresses a need on their campus. The organizers will facilitate discussion by providing an overview of their campus project and how they engage their students with the project. Attendees will be encouraged to share projects ideas for their campuses and ask questions about getting started. This BoF will provide faculty members the opportunity to network with instructors with experience in this area.