2024 ALPFA Northeast Regional VR Bootcamp

At ALPFA, equity is in our DNA

AT ALPFA, WE OWN THE MISSION TO BUILD INTO OUR DNA A CULTURE OF EQUITY AND LEARNING WHERE WE BRING TOGETHER AND GROW A COMMUNITY OF BELONGING. WE CAN ONLY BUILD TRUST BY CREATING AN INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENT OF CURIOSITY, LEARNING, AND BELONGING

As the STEM industry is rapidly progressing forward, there is a crucial need for diverse and inclusive voices in the creation process of emerging technologies.

Origin Story:

ALPFA New York Pride+ Network built cohort

1 of this program in 2023 to create Latinx leaders for impact in strategic industries.

2024 and Beyond:

As we look to the future, technology must have technical representation from Latinx people to avoid unconscious and conscious coded bias, which is why this year’s cohort will be open to all ALPFA Gold and Platinum members in the Northeast Region thanks to an endowment secured through the 2024 Northeast Regional Tech Summit.

This Technical Bootcamp, as well as those that follow, will focus on an emerging STEM field that:

1 2

Maintains significant industry upside in the near-term and top entry-point total compensation

An “in-the-know” career opportunity that requires significant industry knowledge and may not have been discussed in the family home when originally determining career-paths

3

Historically lacks diversity and requires a significant increase in representation of Latinx professionals

Program Overview

THIS 8 WEEK LEARNING JOURNEY WITH LIVE INSTRUCTION,COURSE SUPPORT AND CAREER COACHING WILL GET YOU STARTED WITH EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO BUILD YOUR FIRST VIRTUAL REALITY PROJECT USING THE UNITY GAME ENGINE.

The course will cover a formal introduction to C# programming alongside group activities and projects designed to engage you in your learning experience.

You will learn the essential components of Unity’s framework, industry standards for version control, visual studio code editor, navigati d l documentation, working with ass your projects for XR.

After completing this course, you create your own Virtual Reality application, and will be well on your way to a stellar Dev portfolio.

WHY AN EXTENDED REALITY technical bootcamp?

Rapid Growth of the XR Industry: The XR market was valued at $32.71 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach $1,00934 billion by 2028, reflecting a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 533% This rapid expansion presents vast opportunities for Latinx LGBTQ+ individuals to enter and influence the field.

Need for Diverse Perspectives in Content Creation: Latinx people know what Latinx people need. From safe spaces, storytelling, celebrations, empowerment, Extended Reality applications can solve many of these needs

Increasing Accessibility and Adoption: The number of people using VR worldwide was estimated to be 171 million in 2018 As VR becomes more accessible, it's essential to have diverse creators to cater to an increasingly diverse audience.

Addressing Bias in XR: As of 2018, only 16% of the tech workforce identified as Hispanic Increasing representation of Latinx individuals in XR can help to ensure that this technology is developed with a broad range of perspectives and experiences in mind.

Job Opportunities and Economic Impact: Given the projected CAGR of 53.3% for the XR industry, there's a significant opportunity for job creation 1 Empowering Latinx individuals with XR skills could lead to increased representation in these emerging job opportunities, contributing to economic empowerment within these communities.

Apply Here!

https://2lu9c0azryztypeformcom/to/v2maToZC

Honeypot, "Women in Tech Index 2018" Stanford University, "Empathy at Scale: An Introduction to Immersive Journalism", 2018

XR Technical Bootcamp

This 8-week program for ALPFA Gold and Platinum members will cover a formal introduction to C# programming, with group activities and projects designed to engage your learning experience Build your first VR project and present it at our ALPFA on-site Demo Day in New York City! Apply Here!

https://2lu9c0azryz.typeform.com/to/v2maToZC

COURSE EXPECTATIONS

One session per week of 3 hour live lessons)

1-2 hours of self-study per week

Office hours are held each week and posted by the course facilitator

Dedicated advisor that supports your career journey from Day 1

Discussion forums for questions to instructors and student services advisors

XR Learning Structure

This 8-week Technical Bootcamp includes a program kickoff virtual happy hour for ALPFA Scholarship Recipients, 8 weeks of live instruction once a week with group exercises and co-working sessions, and concludes a few weeks after your final virtual class with an on-site Demo Day at an ALPFA Sponsor in NYC (mid/late July).

GRADING

This is a Pass / Fail program In order to pass this program you must complete the following:

Attend All Live Virtual Sessions (Maximum of 2 Excused Absences During The Program)

Complete All Assignments And Group Exercises

Complete All Projects In A Timely Manner

Following The Guidelines

As stated in the beginning of this course outline, there is a limited number of scholarships available If you are unsure if you can commit to the timeline and courses listed, please defer until a later cohort to provide a chance for someone else to benefit from the complete course

Cohort Learning Outcomes

OTHER PREREQUISITES

Demonstrate availability to attend online and live classes twice a week

Express willingness to attend the opening and closing of the program in person

Demonstrate willingness to connect virtually with your mentor once a month during the program

Show commitment to completing and presenting your final project at the program closing ceremony

OUR COHORT MEMBERS WILL GAIN

Familiarity with Industry Standard Version Control and GitHub for Unity

Understanding of basic Programming Concepts and C#

Confidence navigating the essential components of the Unity Framework Knowledge of how to problem solve and study like a Unity and C# Developer Experience creating Unity Projects and bringing them into Virtual Reality

Real-world demo experience on Demo Day to an invite-only group of ALPFA sponsors and members

https://2lu9c0azryz.typeform.com/to/v2maToZC

KICKOFF

May 6

7 - 8 PM EST

ProgramLaunch

DuringourVirtualHappyHour,wewillwalkthroughourBootcampagenda andansweranylastquestionsbeforetechnicalbootcampbeginsYouwill havetheopportunitytolearnmoreabouttheapplicabilityofVRin business,andmostimportantlyconnectwiththeotherALPFAMembers joiningyouinthelargercohortthefollowingday

WEEK 1 + 2

May 7 & 14

6 to 9 PM EST

WEEK 3 + 4

May 21 & 28

6 to 9 PM EST

WEEK 5 + 6

Jun 4 & 11

6 to 9 PM EST

WEEK 7 + 8

Jun 18 & 25

6 to 9 PM EST

Mid/Late July

New York City

Introduction to the Unity 3D engine Construct your own character out of primitive objects and materials Write a C# script and trigger custom functions.

Intro to objects, transforms, and hierarchy

How to apply colors and textures to an object using Materials

Intro to C# and custom components

Build your very first VR Scene, with locomotion and grab interactions Learn about Unity’s collision and trigger detection, and instantiate prefabs through code.

Use the XR Interaction Toolkit to set up locomotion in VR. Learn how to create, edit, and instantiate Prefabs. Use Unity’s physics system to detect collisions and triggers

Explore more advanced coding techniques, such as coroutines and loops that allow you to run code over time. Discuss the advantages of the Singleton script architecture, which in combination with lists and arrays enables management of prefabs through code.

Begin the VR Fabricator, the final project that allows the user to customize an object before grabbing it to bring into the scene

Implement a button that destroys all spawned objects over a short period of time

Use Joint components and a procedural skybox material to create a VR Slider that changes the time of day.

Create custom animations from within Unity, and trigger them through code Set up hands that animate when you press buttons on the VR controller Present the VR Fabricator you made! Hand models that animate from controller inputs by listening to Input Action events.

Learn to record your VR experience for your portfolio or demos.

In-person demo day where you will get the chance to show off your VR projects to Alumni of the program as well as select ALPFA sponsors and members Award Ceremony Professional Networking opportunity

ALPFA VR BOOTCAMP

CREATORS

PURPOSE

“Build builders” in our community as leaders of innovation and progress

GOAL

Increase Latinx Professionals' Representation in STRATEGIC Institutions across the Northeast Region

Technical Bootcamp Creators:

Celso ReeddeOliveira (He/Him/Ele)

Co-Director& Founder

ALPFANYPride+

Camila Morocho (She/Her)

Innovation&Emerging TechnologyLead

ALPFANYPride+

Andrés Peters (He/Him)

Learning&Experience Designer

ALPFANYPride+

William ReeddeOliveira (He/Him)

Advisor&Founder

ALPFANYPride+