Tech4SG is an interdiscipline community exploring how technology and society intersect. We create campus-wide dialogues through events, curriculum advocacy, and technical project teams. We foster an inclusive community for everyone - technologists and non-technologists alike - to thrive and care for one another.
Clinical Assistant Professor, School of Information
Teams
Learn about the different work we do:
Bytes of Good
Content Team
and past events
CURIS
Project team (2021-2022)
Curricular Advocacy Team
Detroit Community Tech Project
Project team (2021-2022)
Lunar Doula Collective
Project team 2020 - 2022
Publicity Team
designs and all the goodies
Social and Wellness
alternatives to grind culture
Bytes of Good
Bytes of Good are short and brief presentations on terminologies, topics, or anything that relates to tech + social good. They are presented in monthly general meetings and all members are encouraged to sign up to present their topic of interests to the wider community.
This year, Bytes of good covered:
Techno-solutionism
Surveillance Capitalism
Misinformation on FB/Twitter & efforts to stop it
Somewhere Good Inc.
Electronic Curb Cuts
Computer People for Peace
Detroit Digital Justice Coalition
Join us as general members and prepare the next cool byte to present!
The content team plans discussions, panels, showcases, design jams, teach-ins, and any other events that focus on technology, society, tech’s limitations, and imagining alternatives that are for social good.
Some of the topics that we have covered include:
Race and Tech
Data Privacy
Inclusive CS Education
Finding and cultivating a tech for social good workspace
Anti-capitalist computing
Social Media and Identity
Grind Culture in Tech and how to combat it
Misinformation and disinformation in society
In the near future, we will cover more topics, including but not limited to:
the Environmental impact of Tech
Civic Tech and how you can get involved
Community-led design and anti-surveillance movement
Predictive Algorithms and Policing
Science Fiction and Reality
…
Aside from one-time events, the content team also plans reading groups/book clubs, movie/documentary screenings, and discussions on historical and contemporary topics and events.
Have a topic of interest? Join our weekly meeting to plan an event with the team!
T4SG project teams do pro-bono work for a student org/nonprofit with a technical problem that applies to social good.
CURIS - Public Health Advocacy Mission: “CURIS (“cares” in Latin) is a student organization affiliated with the School of Public Health dedicated to understanding and advocating for public health in Southeastern Michigan. “
What CURIS do:
Consult with local organizations to improve public health efforts through event planning, fundraising, volunteering, and research.
Raise awareness of various public health issues relevant to the local area
Continuously advance our understanding of public health issues through discussion during meetings
The CURIS project team will use a human-centered approach to design a website that allows the public to learn about what CURIS offers, get involved, and contribute to the organization.
We are not accepting applications for project teams during the Winter semester. Please stay tuned in the Fall to join a project team!.
If you have a project idea you’d like to pitch and/or a partner organization with a mission you’d like us to support, or if you have any additional questions, let us know at t4sg-board@umich.edu or fill out our contact form at the homepage.
Curricular Advocacy
What does socially responsive tech curriculums look like?
The curriculum advocacy team works as a cross-major/school coalition to make sure ALL students, especially those getting a technical degree, are able to look at technologies through a critical lens and analyze how they are impacted by larger social/political contexts.
Our Efforts include:
advocating for required coursework in classes that address systemic oppression
encouraging more multi-disciplinary courses in education/health/law and technology
designing technical courses that emphasize asking whether we should build something, what the unintended consequences might be, and who exactly we are serving in each product we make.
In the 2020-2021 school year, the curriculum advocacy team researched and compiled a T4SG course guide for the campus community, consolidating classes
across all departments that critically rethink technology in the
broader social context.
As a member in the U of M campus, what does being socially responsive mean for you?what are What are your thoughts about modifying the Tech curriculum?
T4SG project teams do pro-bono work for a student org/nonprofit with a technical problem that applies to social good.
DCTP Mission: “We use and create technology rooted in community needs that strengthens neighbors’ connection to each other, and to the planet. We design, build and facilitate a healthy integration of technology into people’s lives and communities, allowing them the fundamental human right to communicate.”
The DCTP project team will be working with a professional developer and designer to create and integrate the design and frontend of the learning platform, in order to share the community tech/internet networking curriculum that will be used for education and advocacy.
Learn more about the Equitable Internet Initiative, which address Internet access in Detroit through neighborhood-governed community wireless networks.
We are not accepting applications for project teams during the Winter semester. Please stay tuned in the Fall to join a project team!.
If you have a project idea you’d like to pitch and/or a partner organization with a mission you’d like us to support, or if you have any additional questions, let us know at t4sg-board@umich.edu or fill out our contact form at the homepage.
Lunar Doula Collective
T4SG project teams do pro-bono work for a student org/nonprofit with a technical problem that applies to social good.
In 2020-2021, we have one project team working on a website + volunteer dashboard for the Lunar Doula Collective (LDC).
This project would allow our partner to organize their volunteers, volunteering event scheduling, and communication between the coordinator and volunteers more efficiently. The purpose is to improve the previous manual process of signing up volunteers to event and emailing them for reminders. It also serves as a home base for visitors to learn more about Lunar Doula Collective and
have the option to contribute.
This project will continue as one of next year’s project teams to add in new features and designs.
Check out the project presentation showcase in 2020.
We are not accepting applications for project teams during the Winter semester. Please stay tuned in the Fall to join a project team!.
If you have a project idea you’d like to pitch and/or a partner organization with a mission you’d like us to support, or if you have any additional questions, let us know at t4sg-board@umich.edu or fill out our contact form at the homepage.
Publicity
did anyone mention merch?
The publicity team helps getting the word out about our events and mission by designing posters and other publicity materials, identifying relevant student groups / student populations to share our events with, managing our social media presence, and maintaining our website (like this!)
In the past year, we created T4SG T-shirts and stickers for our members to purchase. We are anticipating more merch options, a revamped website, and wider
presence with external partner connections.
Stay tuned for more designs, merches, and freebies in the upcoming year and joing us to create your own version of T4SG!
small reminder to practice self and community care :)
T4SG was founded in the winter semester of 2020, right before when in-person connections have been disrupted and events were virtual. However, we have hosted informal hangouts for members and organized community care events, making sure that every member feels a part of a larger community of students.
The past events and activities include:
#Justgoodthings and #Wellness-log slack channel
Wellness check-ins and a wellness month
Member Slides: one Google slide that showcase each
member. Add yours here!
Kumospace hangout
Halloween and Valentine’s day hangout
Communal Grief event: Processing through contemporary grief while learning the meaning of remembrance and togetherness. We created a communal hope jamboard to remind ourselves of the hopes.
Through hosting events and activities on various platforms, we aim to engage members in the way that suits them the best and normalize “community care” as one of the central values moving forward.
Join our community and let us know a social event you’d like to see in the future.
