The UW Youth Advisory Board (or UW-YAB) is a group of curious and motivated teens (ages 13-17) working with UW researchers to explore their relationships with the technologies they use in their day to day lives.
Youth Advisors work closely with researchers (faculty, graduate students, undergraduates) from the Information School, Psychology and Computer Science Engineering (CSE) on long-term projects exploring teen technology use and design. This year, teen advisors in the UW-YAB will work on:
- Research projects exploring the relationship between teens and media
- Exploring and formulating high school curriculums on social media, computer science education, etc.
- Engaging in co-design methods to help develop a game episode that teaches middle and high school students to think critically about generative AI
- And more!
What is the time commitment required to join UW-YAB?
The UW-YAB group will meet twice a month (once every two weeks, exact dates TBD) virtually for 2 hours (exact times TBD). To be a full participant, you must be able to attend 12 of the 15 yearly meetings (dates will be posted in advance).
How long does the UW-YAB last?
Members of the UW-YAB may join the group as early as their Freshman year of High School (9th grade) and stay in the group until they finish their Senior Year (12th grade) if they wish. We will recruit new youth advisors every year near the beginning of the academic school year.
I am a senior in High School; can I still sign up for UW-YAB?
Yes! Those who are going into their last year of High School (i.e. seniors) may join UW-YAB as advisors for a maximum of 1 year; or, until they finish their High School studies.
What’s in it for me when I join UW-YAB?
Joining the UW-YAB means meeting and working with other students and researchers who are excited to help answer some of the most burning questions researchers about technology (like social media, AI, and more) that affect us everyday. This experience aims to grant teens with:
- Experience in social science research,
- Networking opportunities with researchers and like-minded peers who are excited about research,
- Research skills, like question formation and data analysis,
- An opportunity to learn about different research career options and paths, and
- A way to contribute your voice in a meaningful way to projects that explore and later communicate to the world how you would like your life with technology to look like
Who can I talk to if I have more questions?
If you have any more questions, feel free to reach out to roteml@uw.edu for additional information.
Sign ups for the 2024/2025 year have closed. If you have missed the deadline and would still like to join us this year, please email roteml@uw.edu
Summer 2024 UW Youth Advisors
