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Public Interest Technology (PiTech) Initiative at Cornell Tech
Climate Change
September, 2023
Author: Małgorzata (Małgosia) Rejniak serves as Director of Cornell Tech’s Public Interest Technology Initiative (PiTech). She’s focused on building and scaling educational and engagement opportunities for Cornell Tech students which apply technological expertise in service of public needs and forming partnerships with public sector and non-profit organizations in NYC and beyond.
The Public Interest Technology (PiTech) Initiative at Cornell Tech curates educational and engagement opportunities for students and practitioners across higher education, civil society, and industry. Our goal is to facilitate technological expertise in service of public needs and to explicitly incorporate public objectives in the pursuit of technical innovation.
Siegel PiTech PhD Impact Fellowship
The Siegel PiTech PhD Impact Fellowship supports doctoral students in technical fields through 12-week summer externships with nonprofit and public sector organizations across NYC. In the externships, students immerse themselves in real-world projects, gain exposure to technology challenges facing public interest organizations, and contribute critical skills and expertise to advancing their host organization’s mission.
Our NYC-based partners represent government, civil society, and the nonprofit sector, spanning many critical public interest areas, including:
- Public health—health care provision and accessibility
- Social justice—food insecurity, criminal justice reform, and economic inequality
- Trustworthy media ecosystems—combating racism, hate speech, and misinformation
- Public services—public service provision, housing, transportation, and civic engagement
- Environment—sustainability and conservation
Cornell Tech’s PiTech Initiative works closely with these partner organizations to craft projects that allow students to explore interests, connecting them to opportunities they may otherwise not have access to (for example, analyzing a potentially rich but thus far neglected dataset). At the same time, our partners benefit from students’ advanced technical expertise in machine learning, data science, natural language processing, human-centered design, and/or AR/VR technology. Throughout the process, PiTech takes great care to curate externship projects and match students with organizations based on the students’ interests and skills.
Learn more about the Siegel PiTech PhD Impact Fellowship by exploring previous Fellows’ projects and community impact in their testimonials linked below.
