Thanks to the generosity of Jeff Seltzer W’78 and his wife Annie, the Penn Libraries is proud to offer digital media project awards for up to Penn undergraduates. We welcome current Penn freshmen, sophomores, and juniors to apply for this year’s Seltzer Family Digital Media Awards. Each award will provide up to $1,000 for the purchase of hardware / technology of their choice for a research project the student is working on. Awardees will have exclusive use of the purchased items for one academic year, after which time the items will return to the Vitale Digital Media Lab in Weigle Information Commons for general use by the Penn community. Funds cannot be used for other purposes such as travel. “Research Project” is very broadly defined, and may be related to your academic studies, your personal interests, or your travels. If you can think of a coherent project that involves technology, you should strongly consider applying. Examples of technology items purchased by previous award winners include:
- Video Cameras
- Audio recorders
- Virtual Reality (VR) headsets
- Microphones
- Scanners
- Video lighting
- Music synthesizers
- 3D printers
- iPads
Regarding equipment, applicants don’t need to identify specific equipment before applying. They just need to identify the general types of equipment they’ll need: a video camera, an iPad, a microphone, etc. and then we will meet with each winner to help them select the equipment that will best serve their needs. Previous winners have:
- Created video documentaries
- Compiled audio interviews and oral histories
- Created art installations
- Conducted qualitative research projects
- Created animated films
- Documented things with blogs/vlogs
- and more
Each recipient is expected to submit a copy of the completed project (if feasible) and a brief reflection statement at the end of the project year. Open to all Penn undergraduates.
