SPICE Projects
The Student Projects for Intellectual Community Enhancement (SPICE) initiative supports a wide variety of projects across all Stanford schools. While we do not limit project types as long as they adhere to our guidelines, awarded projects tend to fall into one of the categories described below.
One-Time Events
SPICE projects in this category involve one-time events, such as colloquia, conferences, and featured speakers.
Featured Example: Across Air and Space: This one-day colloquium will involve research presentations and discussions from across the engineering spectrum. An invited keynote speaker will highlight the importance of interdisciplinary research, enhance cross-collaboration efforts and improve networking opportunities.
Reading/Research/Writing Groups
SPICE projects in this category involve regular meetings to discuss and/or provide feedback on readings, research, and/or written work on a specific intellectual topic. This can also include speaker series.
Featured Example: Stanford Ocean Networking and Research (SONAR): SONAR is an intellectual community for all marine-interested graduate students through research, collaboration, and discussions. SONAR hosts several events each quarter, including invited seminar speakers, a focused reading group, and graduate research talks.
Mentorship/Community Groups
SPICE projects in this category involve regular meetings to discuss developing transferable skills and/or support in a particular field. This can also include speaker series.
Featured Example: Re:Think Humanists Beyond the PhD: Re:Think provides a welcoming, peer-led group for students to share resources in pursuit of enriching intellectual lives and careers beyond the PhD. We build community resources to help us navigate uncertainty, uphold personal motivation, and network strategically and effectively. We explicitly apply a humanist lens and ethos to these pursuits, regularly hosting student-centered workshops as well as expert panels, professionalization events and networking opportunities.
Single-Project Initiatives
SPICE projects in this category do not quite fit into the other categories, and often include a specific project that participants work on together.
Featured Example: Stanford Jail and Prison Education Project: Since 2012, SJPEP has helped fill the jail programming gap, connecting 40+ Stanford students per quarter from 30+ academic disciplines to design, teach, and learn in interdisciplinary courses within Bay Area jails and prisons, reaching hundreds of incarcerated students. Classes include creativity-based courses, seminar series, and book clubs.