by Jim Kilmer

This new effort will begin operations at SIGGRAPH 2007 in San Diego, with year-round services beginning in time for the 2007-2008 academic year.  The core organizing group will consist initially of 8 committee members focused on various areas of interest to students, such as mentoring programs, internship and industry opportunities, academic and specialized study programs, and career counseling.  Organizers are currently searching for dedicated volunteers, with experience working with students, to become a part of the core group.  An official Call for Participation to the community will be released within the next month.

Beginning prior to the SIGGRAPH 2007 conference, the Student Services group will offer a demo reel, portfolio and resume review service to Student Volunteers program applicants, as well as work closely with the Student Volunteers committee to design on-site lectures and programs of interest to our student community.  Other programs such as the on-site Career Symposium will help to form the foundation for the ongoing services that the new group will provide throughout the year. 

"We're very excited about the ability to extend our acclaimed conference programs into ongoing programs available to students during the peak of the academic year." says Josh Grow, SIGGRAPH 2008 Student Volunteers Chair. "Not every student is able to travel to the conference, so we hope that many more students will be able to get involved in SIGGRAPH programs through this new effort."

Conference programs such as industry-professional mentoring offered by the Student Volunteers committee, competitions, peer networking programs, and others, will be operated by this new group to educate and engage students throughout the school year.  Organizers also hope to engage a series of accomplished professionals to provide interactive online talks in specific fields, available to student members on a regular basis. 

The new group will work closely with existing ACM SIGGRAPH committees, including the Education Committee and Chapters Committee, specifically for promoting existing programs to a wider audience and offering local on-site programs in places where students have already organized. 

Jim Kilmer, ACM SIGGRAPH Director-at-Large, hopes that the year-round presence of this group will encourage more students to get involved in the organization. Kilmer explains, "Each year, we interact primarily with only about 500 students through the process of planning the annual Conference." Compounding the issue is that, historically, only about 20% of those students maintain contact after the conference ends to return in future years.  "Today's students are the future of this organization, and we hope to do everything we can to keep them involved in the community and maintain an active relationship throughout their careers." 

The Student Services group will be working to build a network of academic and industry experts to channel information into the organization, where it can be distributed through an array of forums, social networking tools, mailing lists, and by other means. 

Persons interested in participating should contact Jim Kilmer at: jim_kilmer@siggraph.org. 

"This is an investment in our future," Kilmer says, "and I encourage everyone in SIGGRAPH-related industries to consider how they might help the next generation of professionals to succeed and grow the field."

Organizers are hoping to have sufficient volunteers and experts available to begin full-scale operation by the end of this year.