The Penn Libraries welcomes rising juniors and seniors to apply for the Hoesley Digital Literacy Fellows Program. Partially funded by a generous gift from Board Member Jim Hoesley and his wife Sandee Hoesley, and conducted in collaboration with Career Services, the School of Arts and Sciences, and the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CURF), this program encourages creative exploration of technologies commonly used in our rapidly evolving 21st century workplace and beyond. Throughout the experience, Fellows will receive hands-on training and support as they develop a professional website and career-related digital project of their choice.
Comfort with foundational digital literacy skills and experience with emerging technologies can provide a valuable edge in many job and internship searches. In this fellowship, students will work in a cohort to design, workshop, develop and pitch a digital project that brings together their academic, personal, and professional interests to present to a group of local professionals representing a variety of industries and fields. This process will be supported through the guidance of library staff members in bi-weekly meetings, as well as in tailored workshops offered by experts across the Penn community. By the end of the academic year, fellows will have a completed digital project on their public websites that will demonstrate mastery of their digital skills to include in applications for future academic and professional opportunities.
Who Should Apply?
All rising juniors and seniors may apply. The fellowship focuses on career readiness through practical skill building and teamwork. This program is designed for students who are eager to learn digital literacy skills to further their academic and professional goals. Students from the humanities without significant experience with media and technology are particularly encouraged to apply.
Students will be selected based on level of interest, potential project ideas, and match between their needs and fellowship training opportunities. Since Fellows are expected to commit for the full academic year, this is not a good fit for those who plan to study abroad during the fall 2021 or spring 2022 semesters. Bimonthly workshops and meetings will provide hands-on training and opportunities for discussion, project planning, and collaboration. Attendance at all workshops and meetings is a requirement for completion. Students must be willing to commit up front to a minimum of two meetings a month in the Weigle Information Commons for the duration of the academic year. In addition, fellows will choose three library workshops per semester (6 total in the year) based on their interests.
Program Details
The program will select a cohort of up to 10 students in July. Students will meet as a cohort with library staff in September to plan out a personalized program.
Fellows will have opportunities to develop their professional digital skills through the academic year by building a professional website (hosting provided by Penn Libraries) as well as completing and pitching a signature project related to their academic interests and career plans. In addition to their own work, Fellows will participate in hands-on workshops from staff members across Penn Libraries’ Learning Commons and Vitale Digital Media Lab in a variety of technologies and digital tools in addition to workshops on career-related planning. Some of the workshop topics to be offered are:
- Web design and building an online presence
- Digital media production
- Photo editing
- Sound editing
- Video editing
- Graphic design
- Emerging technology
- 3D modeling
- 3D printing and scanning
- Virtual and Augmented Reality
- Project management
- Presentation skills
Questions?
Questions about the Hoesley Digital Literacy Fellowship? Reach out to us at hoesleyfellowship@lists.upenn.edu. Please be sure to include your name, year of graduation, the best email to reach you at and any questions you have about the fellowship.
Hoesley & Seltzer Program Applications
We are currently accepting applications for the Hoesley Digital Literacy Fellowship, which is open to students who will be a junior or senior during the 2021/2022 academic year. Applications for the 2021/2022 fellowship can be found on the CURF website and will be due at 5pm on July 19, 2021.