Written by Zizo Ezzat
Uber is the Bay Area based tech giant that we all know and love for calling rides when we need them most, or delivering our dinner home when we want to spend the night in. While we may usually think of these services when we hear “Uber,” what isn’t as commonly known is that Uber has been looking for ways to invest in underrepresented young adults that are looking to break into the tech industry. On their search for organizations who share the same efforts, they found the perfect partner in a non-profit based in the San Francisco Mission neighborhood, Dev/Mission.
Dev/Mission is a 501(c)3 non-profit with the single goal of “Creating the next generation of tech talent.” They train young adults from untapped communities with the skills and support to pursue a career within the tech industry, at no cost. Since 2017, Dev/Mission has been providing professional training opportunities for young adults. Some of which include the 12 week Pre-Apprenticeship, STEAM Hub, and Digital Music Lab.
Uber has been a longtime partner with Dev/Mission, in fact, the first Dev/Mission meetings were hosted in the San Francisco Uber headquarters. Uber’s support did not stop there, Kurtis Nusbaum, Uber employee and Dev/Mission CTO, states “Uber has issued a $300,000 grant and donated our refurbished technology to Dev/Mission.” Having this strong relationship between the San Francisco based nonprofit, and the Bay Area tech giant established the foundations for this new one of a kind opportunity, which would be later known as the Uber Fellowship.
The Uber Fellowship is a 6 month training opportunity for young adults to learn full-stack web development and product management. Fellows spend their Tuesday nights working with Dev/Mission instructors and Uber engineers to learn modern web development libraries such as React.js, along with tools currently being used by tech professionals such as GitHub, Heroku, and Docker.
On Wednesday nights, Code For San Francisco volunteers work with the fellows to learn product management and UX/UI fundamentals such as user centered design. With the support of both Uber and Code For San Francisco, fellows are tasked with creating an open source project to solve an important issue in their community.
Allen Meyer, co-instructor of the fellowship, and Code For San Francisco volunteer, says “You create a space for the next generation to learn, and the only way they can learn is by having people in positions of power making those opportunities available to them.” Opportunities such as this fellowship allow young adults to break into the tech industry by providing them with a network, education, and collaborative projects to work on.
The Spring 2021 Uber Fellowship cohort was a testament to the dedication of the volunteers, and the commitment of the fellows. For the first time, the fellowship was forced to transition to a fully remote setting and did so successfully.
Due to the quick adaptation, the fellowship was able to support even more fellows than ever before, seeing a 62% increase in participants compared to the previous cohort. Fellows created web apps such as Bulga; a budgeting tool for young adults. Codeswitch; networking platform for students, and mentors. FairPlay; bridging the digital divide for students. Garden Space; an app for organizers, and volunteers to maintain San Francisco gardens. SmolBiz; a new way to engage with small businesses in your area.
During the Spring 2021 Virtual Uber Fellowship Showcase, the fellows had the opportunity to exhibit their hard work through an engaging presentation, and a live walkthrough of their webapp from a user’s perspective. We had the privilege of having Sukumar Rathnam, CTO of Uber, and Hao Truong, Director of Engineering of Uber, in attendance for the fellowship graduation. Rathnam also spoke to the fellows, and noted that, “It’s about the right opportunities, that’s the kind of work that Dev/Mission is doing, the kind of work that Hao Truong is doing, because it levels the playing field to get into this industry…and eliminate the barriers.”
After completion of the program, 100% of fellows surveyed felt more confident about their future in the tech field. Jian Xie, a fellow from the Spring 2021 cohort, reflects about his experience in the fellowship, “Uber and Code For San Francisco supported me by opening me up for new connections and a sense of community that I felt I can rely on whenever I have technical issues.”
Support provided by the Uber Fellowship continues well beyond the end of the program, especially as fellows continue to work on their projects. “We’re starting to see some of the first examples of these fellowship projects living on beyond their cohort, which is exciting, because in the end, we want to build applications that will serve the community,” said Francis Li, co-instructor of the fellowship.
The Uber Fellowship is only getting started as Dev/Mission, Code For San Francisco, and Uber are already planning for the next cohort of fellows. Uber especially has been so impressed with the accomplishments of the fellows, that they have decided to take an even more prominent role in the fellowship to provide greater support.
Special thanks to Uber and Code For San Francisco for their ongoing support in making this fellowship possible. Dev/Mission is grateful to have partners that share their vision of “Creating the next generation of tech talent,” and breaking down barriers for young adults entering the tech industry. We look forward to continuing our partnership, and would like to congratulate all of the fellows that have participated in the fellowship from the first cohort to the most recent Spring 2021 cohort!
Leonardo Sosa, CEO and Founder of Dev/Mission, conveys his optimism about the fellowship along with some words of encouragement, “Young people just need to make it happen, the opportunities are available to you. Get started with Dev/Mission, and let’s take it to the next level. I believe that’s what the Uber Fellowship is about, and the talent is right here in San Francisco, and the Bay Area. Now let’s find a home for this talent in these tech companies”. Whether in person, virtual, or hybrid, Dev/Mission looks forward to inviting the next group of fellows that will embark on their journey in the tech industry!
