Hi all, reminder: the deadline for WMF community department summer
internships is March 7! They are looking for both qualitative and
quantitative analytical skills, see job descriptions below. :)
--
:: Andrea Forte
:: Assistant Professor
:: College of Information Science and Technology, Drexel University
::
http://www.andreaforte.net
_____________
I. Wikimedia Foundation / Community Department Summer Fellowship
(Quantitative Research)
The Wikimedia Foundation is developing a community analytics platform
to gain a better understanding of its contributors and readers. This
platform is used both for answering ad-hoc questions and identifying
long-term trends.
We are seeking a small team of paid Summer fellows to help bring this
platform to life on a scalable platform, create many new data sets to
aid research, and begin to make the system available to the entire
Wikimedia and academic communities.
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR: You love data and you are a great story
teller. You enjoy working with large datasets and applying state of
the art algorithms. But data is not just numbers, it's telling a story
and you have a knack for discovering the most important story hidden
in the data. You share the values of the Wikipedia projects and the
Wikimedia Foundation.
CANDIDATE CHARACTERISTICS:
* Currently pursing a PhD in statistics, computer science,
mathematics, economics, biostatistics, physics, operations research or
another discipline involving large scale data analysis.
* Experience with statistical data analysis such as linear models,
multivariate analysis, stochastic models, and sampling methods.
* Excellent implementation skills in Python and at least one other
language (Java, PHP).
* Experience with Django is a big plus.
* Experience with NOSQL solutions (Hadoop/HBase/Hive or Mongo) or
eager to learn.
* Knowledge of UNIX/Linux or Windows environments and APIs. *
Familiarity with TCP/IP and network programming a plus.
* Being an editor of Wikipedia is a big plus.
* Self-starter: Able to mobilize the resources you need to get things
done, including yourself.
COMPENSATION: $3,200 per month + housing provided or housing stipend.
TIME COMMITMENT: Full time employment for as much of the Summer as
you’re available.
HOW TO APPLY: Please send the following materials to
bjones(a)wikimedia.org with “Summer Fellowship” in the subject line:
a. A thoughtful cover letter explaining your interest in this fellowship.
b. A brief description of your dissertation project and your interest
in linking your research to support the foundation’s mission.
c. An academic article you have written (published or unpublished)
that shows your writing skills.
d. A pointer to your website or other online presence (if available).
II. Wikimedia Foundation / Community Department Summer Research
Fellowship (Qualitative)
Be a part of an exciting Summer of research at the Wikimedia
Foundation. Our task: to understand better why the active editor base
is not replenishing itself at the same rate it used to -- and to
present data that can help our communities figure out what to do about
it. We are looking for PhD candidates or people who have completed
Masters degrees in history, other humanities fields, anthropology and
other social sciences. Over the Summer, we will be working on several
interdependent quantitative and qualitative research projects, as well
as developing new research tools. One or two longer-term fellowships
are also available.
This is a paid fellowship based in San Francisco. For an exceptional
candidate, and exception can be made to work remotely after a two week
orientation in San Francsico.
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR: You love taking a microscope to social
phenomena to figure out what is really going on at the level of
individuals' personal, daily, experience. You are a systems thinker
who can think about interactions between many variables and hypotheses
at the same time.
You love both quantitative data and textual archives. You are a great
story teller. You have a knack for discovering the most important
story hidden in the data.
CANDIDATE SKILLS/CHARACTERISTICS
* Believes in the value of Wikimedia. Exudes enthusiasm for the
mission and can powerfully embody and communicate it.
* Intellectual curiosity and flexibility. Enjoys tackling difficult,
ambiguous problems and able to incorporate new knowledge into how one
approaches situations and generates solutions; loves learning from
others and expanding intellectual horizons
* Open and transparent: Comfortable working in a highly transparent
fashion, open to input and feedback, proactive candid communicator who
wants people to know what she/he is doing and isn't afraid to bring
others in when things are off-track or when you need help
* Action-oriented: Focuses on generating research results that are
high quality and support real-world decision-making and action in a
timely fashion; able to problem solve around imperfect data and make
appropriate methodological judgment
* Strong cultural competency: Ability to bridge cultures and
geographic differences; able to navigate in a truly global movement,
and understands the values in diverse communities and worldviews
* Self-starter: Able to mobilize the resources you need to get things
done, including yourself.
QUALIFICATIONS
* Masters degree, PhD candidate or PhD in relevent field such as
history, sociology, anthropology. Researching Wikimedia communities
requires a mix of skills unusual for any academic discipline, so we're
not picky about which discipline you come from. * Experience wrestling
with historical, sociological or anthropological questions pertaining
to the success, growth and survival of communities, social movements
and large scale collaborative work.
* Experience wading through dense and complex historical archives or
other textual social data.
* Wikimedians are strongly encouraged to apply!
COMPENSATION: $3,200 per month + housing stipend.
TIME COMMITMENT: Full time employment for as much of the Summer as
you’re available.
HOW TO APPLY: Please send the following materials to
bjones(a)wikimedia.org with “Summer Fellowship” in the subject line:
a. A thoughtful cover letter explaining your interest in this fellowship.
b. A brief description of your Masters degree or dissertation project
and your interest in linking your research to support the foundation’s
mission.
c. An academic article you have written (published or unpublished)
that shows your writing skills.
d. A pointer to your website or other online presence (if available).