FASPE Design and Technology Fellows Program

FASPE begins by examining the actions and choices of technologists and designers in enabling and executing Nazi policies. FASPE then draws on this historical example to help Design and Technology Fellows grapple with their role and responsibilities as designers of built environments and to encourage them to identify and confront the ethical issues currently facing architects, engineers, designers, and other technologists today.

This year, FASPE Design and Technology will be awarding fellowships to 14 to 16 graduate students and early-career professionals working in engineering, architecture, computer science, design, and related fields. Fellows will spend two weeks in Germany and Poland, where they will visit key sites of Nazi history and participate in daily seminars led by specialized faculty. The program couples the power of place with academic rigor and many informal opportunities for creative exchange.

FASPE draws on a large pool of applicants, whose diverse background and interests enrich discussions both inside and outside the seminar room. Design and Technology Fellows will travel with the Business and Law Fellows, allowing them to broaden their understanding of the role of professionals over shared meals, activities, and in interdisciplinary seminars. FASPE Fellowships are fully funded so that financial ability does not affect participation.

Topics

FASPE Design and Technology Fellows will examine topics such as:

• The complicity of German and other technologists in the design and development of the policies of National Socialism
• Whether this profession–Design and Technology–and its professionals can be viewed as morally neutral, i.e., do they have a duty beyond competence and problem solving
• The ethical challenge of ambition in professional development
• Ethics in government, non-profit, and for-profit computing
• Legal ethics in the context of technological innovations
• Tactics to address ethical issues within tech companies, architecture firms, engineering environments, and other institutions.

Eligibility Criteria

• FASPE Design and Technology applicants must be actively pursuing a career in architecture, design, computer science, data science, engineering, or any related professions. Applicants must fit into one of the following two categories:
  • be enrolled in a graduate program in design, architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, computer science, statistics and applied math, electrical engineering, or a program in a closely related field at the time of their application, or
  • be working in a related field, with an undergraduate degree earned no earlier than May 2019 or a graduate degree no earlier than May 2021.
• Applicants must be 42 or younger as of the application deadline.
• FASPE seeks Fellows who are about to embark on their career as professionals, are interested in engaging in discussions with their co-Fellows and faculty, and who have the intellectual and emotional maturity to unpack difficult and controversial issues responsibly and respectfully in small group settings. FASPE selects its Fellows on the basis of their academic background, personal and professional experiences, capacity for leadership and ability to contribute to the program and the alumni community. All applications are welcome and reviewed.

For more information, visit FASPE.