ALPFA NY Pride+ Technical Bootcamp: Foundations of Extended Reality In partnership with
At ALPFA New York, equity is in our DNA
AT ALPFA NY, 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.
Our Pride+ Network has a mission to connect Queer Latinx leaders for Impact, as well as to increase Queer Latinx representation and leadership in strategic industries
As we look to the future, Technology must have technical representation from Queer Latinx people to avoid unconscious and conscious coded bias. Extended Reality or “XR” (VR/AR/MR) is the first frontier we will be addressing with our inaugural Technical Bootcamp, specifically for Queer Latinx ALPFA members!
This Technical Bootcamp, as well as those that follow, will focus on an emerging STEM field that:
1 2 3
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
Historically lacks diversity and requires a significant increase in representation of Queer Latinx professionals
THE TRUTH, BY THE NUMBERS
11% & 3.5%: Only 11%: 48%: 22.7%:
The representation of Hispanic/Latinx individuals and LGBTQ+ individuals respectively in the engineering and overall STEM workforce
The portion of Latinx LGBTQ+ youth in advanced classes, compared to 26% of non-LGBTQ+ youth, highlighting potential barriers to entering STEM fields.
The percentage of Hispanic/Latinx LGBTQ+ youth who seriously considered suicide in the past year, emphasizing the need for supportive and inclusive environments, including in STEM
The rate of poverty among Latinx lesbian couples and 23% for gay couples, compared to their non-LGBTQ+ counterparts
American Society for Engineering Education, "Engineering by the Numbers", 2015. Queer in STEM, "Queer in STEM 2.0: National Study of Sexual Diversity in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics", 2013.
Human Rights Campaign, "2020 LGBTQ Youth Report".
Center for American Progress, "Discrimination Prevents LGBTQ People from Accessing Health Care", 2017. National LGBTQ Task Force, "Queer People of Color and Economic Justice", n.d. The Trevor Project, "National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health 2020".
WHY IS XR OUR FIRST technical bootcamp?
• Rapid Growth of the XR Industry: The XR market was valued at $32.71 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach $1,009.34 billion by 2028, reflecting a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 53.3%. This rapid expansion presents vast opportunities for Latinx LGBTQ+ individuals to enter and influence the field.
• Need for Diverse Perspectives in Content Creation: Queer Latinx people know what Queer 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.
Fortune Business Insights, "Virtual Reality (VR) Market Size, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, Report, 2021-2028".
McKinsey, "Why diversity matters", 2015. Statista, "Number of virtual reality users worldwide from 2014 to 2018".
• Addressing Bias in XR: As of 2018, only 16% of the tech workforce identified as Hispanic and only 3% identified as LGBTQ+. Increasing representation of Latinx LGBTQ+ 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 LGBTQ+ individuals with XR skills could lead to increased representation in these emerging job opportunities, contributing to economic empowerment within these communities.
Apply Here!
https://bit.ly/pride-xr-scholarship
Honeypot, "Women in Tech Index 2018". Stanford University, "Empathy at Scale: An Introduction to Immersive Journalism", 2018.XR Technical Bootcamp
This 6-week program for ALPFA members that identify as both LGBTQIA+ and Latinx 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 Pride+ Demo Day! Apply Here!
https://bit.ly/pride-xr-scholarship
Program Overview
THIS 6 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, navigating developer documentation, working with assets, and structuring your projects for XR.
After completing this course, you will be well able to create your own Virtual Reality application, and will be well on your way to a stellar Dev portfolio.
XR Learning Structure
This 6-week Technical Bootcamp includes a program kickoff, 4 weeks of live instruction twice a week with group exercises and co-working sessions, and concludes a couple weeks after your final class with a Demo Day on-site in NYC (mid/late July).
COURSE EXPECTATIONS
• Two session per week of 3 hour live lessons ( 6 hours per week total )
• 4-6 hours of self-study per week
Office hours are held each week and posted by the course facilitator
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
Dedicated advisor that supports your career journey from Day 1
Discussion forums for questions to instructors and student services advisors
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.
Scholars 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. Apply
https://bit.ly/pride-xr-scholarship
OUR SCHOLARS 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
Here!
WEEK 1
June 5
7 to 8 PM EST
WEEK 2
June 6 & 8
5 to 8 PM EST
WEEK 3
June 13 & 15
5 to 8 PM EST
WEEK 4
June 20 & 22
5 to 8 PM EST
Program Launch
• During our Virtual Happy Hour, we will walk through our Bootcamp agenda and answer any last questions before technical bootcamp begins. You will have the opportunity to learn more about the applicability of VR in business.
• Intro to objects, transforms, and hierarchy
• How to apply colors and textures to an object using Materials
• Intro to C# and custom components
• 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
• Unity Project: VR Fabricator:
• 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
WEEK 5
June 27 & 29
5 to 8 PM EST
• Hand models that animate from controller inputs by listening to Input Action events
• Learn to record your VR experience for your portfolio or demos
• Present your VR Fabricator to your peers
• Developer Forums & XR Communities
• Career steps for XR & XR Bootcamps
DEMO DAY
Mid/Late July
• 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 NEW YORK PRIDE+
PURPOSE
Connecting Queer Latinx Leaders in New York for IMPACT.
GOAL
Increase Latinx LGBTQIA+ Professionals' Representation in STRATEGIC Institutions across New York.
Technical Bootcamp Creators:
Camila Morocho (She/Her) Innovation & Emerging Technology Lead Celso Reed de Oliveira (He/Him/Ele) Co-Director & Founder Andrés Peters (He/Him) Learning & Experience Designer William Reed de Oliveira (He/Him) Advisor & Founder
