exploreCSR (Google Research)

Since 2018, the exploreCSR awards have supported institutions to design and host research-focused initiatives during the academic year that expose students from marginalized groups to computing research methodologies, career pathways, and exploratory problems. In addition to receiving funding, principal investigators (PIs) have the opportunity to join a community of practice, participate in cross-site evaluation of student outcomes, collaborate with Google researchers, and request supplemental funding and support from TensorFlow.

• Eligible to higher education faculty in Australia, Canada, East Asia, New Zealand, and the United States (if you are not from a PhD-granting institution, it is strongly recommended that you collaborate with a partner who is)
• Institutions may receive one award (USD) per academic year, for up to three total years
  • Australia & New Zealand: up to $10,000 per year
  • East Asia: up to $15,000 per year
  • United States & Canada: up to $18,000 in year one, $15,000 in year two, $10,000 in year three
  • Awards are disbursed as unrestricted gifts to the institution
• United States and Canada:
  • The primary audience is undergraduate students from historically marginalized groups in order to encourage their pursuit of graduate studies. Many initiatives include current graduate students as facilitators, near-peer mentors, panelists, and in other roles.
  • Applicants may request supplemental funding for research experiences for undergraduates (REUs) at USD $7,000 per student for up to two students per PI accepted to exploreCSR. Requests for supplemental REU funding will not factor into the acceptance of the overall application and will be evaluated only for accepted PIs.

Strong applications will demonstrate how the proposed initiative builds student self-efficacy, sense of belonging, practical skills, motivation to pursue computing research, and actionable strategies to pursue graduate studies. Initiatives often include:

• Introductory, experiential research problems that students solve in teams with peers and faculty
• Skill building strategies for reviewing articles, designing experiments, creating posters and leveraging cutting-edge technologies
• Panels, presentations and mentorship from faculty, graduate students and industry researchers
• Advising on the graduate admission process, transition to graduate school life, and academic and financial resources
• Opportunities for students to share and discuss their questions and goals with peers
• Follow-up social events and research opportunities to engage students throughout the academic year