Tl;dr:
Some STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) communities from the broader EA community are coming together to bring you two events during the week of EAG London. This post introduces the communities and events and hopes to inspire closer collaboration between STEM communities and the wider EA community.
Goals of this Post and the Events
We want to:
- Increase awareness of the different STEM communities within the wider EA community and their activities. As an example, High Impact Engineers repeatedly gets interest from/referrals of software engineers, when we are probably not able to provide them with as much value as, say, EA Software Engineers.
- Summarise the methods for engagement with different STEM communities. We hope that this post will highlight commonalities between these groups so organisers can collaborate, and highlight gaps in approaches that could be filled.
- Help grow the membership of organisations and attendance at our first cross-STEM-community event.
- Inspire cross-collaboration between the STEM communities. Due to the high overlap in skills and interests between STEM communities, we hope that there will be more cross-collaboration on interdisciplinary projects as members know where to find people with specific skillsets.
Event Announcements
STEM Community Builders Online Panel: Wednesday 17th May 18:30 – 19:30 BST
HI-Eng, Hi-Med, EA Software Engineers, EA Data Science/ML/AI, and EA Math & Physics are hosting an online panel event for people in STEM looking to have more impact through their careers. We will introduce our organisations and share knowledge in discussions on relevant topics. We hope that people in STEM are able to come away from this event with a set of concrete next steps for how to have more impact with their careers. Please leave your questions for us as comments on this post, or in the sign-up form. Sign up to receive joining instructions.
STEM Mixer Social Event: Friday 19th May 19:00 – 21:00
Join us at the Northeastern University Campus (~15 mins walk from the EAG London venue) for an evening of snacks, non-alcoholic drinks, and board games. We hope to facilitate networking amongst people studying and working in STEM and provide a conversation and community! Sign-ups are required and are open until Wednesday 17th May. You’ll need a photo ID to attend, and to show your EAG ticket on the Swapcard app when you arrive. We hope to see you there!
What is STEM, and who are the STEM communities in the broader EA community?
STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. People working in these disciplines often develop similar skills (numerical skills, analytical skills, problem-solving skills, etc.), which are generally in high demand. The evidence-based scientific approach that EA uses is familiar to people in STEM, which might be why the EA community seems to attract and keep lots of STEM people (perhaps to a fault).
The following STEM communities from the wider EA community aim to provide a space for people with similar interests and backgrounds to learn more about how they can contribute to the shared project of doing the most good in the world. These groups overlap heavily with the Profession-Specific Organisations – I’ve linked to their descriptions where they overlap.
EA Data Science/ML/AI
What do we do?
This group is for sharing all the data initiatives around Effective Altruism, supporting aspiring data scientists, discussing the most pressing problems and new paradigms, and perhaps starting new projects together!
Methods of engagement with our community.
Join EA Data Science/ML/AI on Slack.
About the team.
Stefania currently runs EA Data Science/ML/AI. Email her at astrastefania@gmail.com
Call to action.
Join EA Data Science/ML/AI on Slack.
EA Math and Physics
What do we do?
We aim to be a community for EAs with an interest in Math and Physics. In bi-weekly meetings, we discuss topics related to altruism (such as biophysics for addressing pandemics or statistical physics for modelling human cooperation) and share thoughts regarding our career decisions. We wish to be a group of peers to anyone working on a project which connects EA and Math/Physics, and provide a place to present ideas and receive feedback and encouragement.
Methods of engagement with our community.
Since March 2023 we moved to be part of the EA Anywhere Slack where you can find us at the #math-and-physics channel.
About the team.
Mart and Ella currently run EA Math and Physics. Contact us at eamaphy@gmail.com
Call to action.
Join this community on the EA Anywhere Slack at the #math-and-physics channel.
EA Software Engineers
Description on Profession-Based Communities EA Forum post.
High Impact Engineers
Description on Profession-Based Communities EA Forum post.
High Impact Medicine
Description on Profession-Based Communities EA Forum post.