WWDC Scholarships 2010
Summary
* The Australasian Apple University Consortium (AUC), of which the University is a member, is providing scholarships to assist staff and students to attend Apple's World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2010. Dates for the conference are not yet finalised, but it is expected to be a Monday-to-Friday period, 7-11 June.
* The University of Melbourne has one "allocated" scholarship for WWDC 2010. This is awarded on a competitive basis, but only people currently working or studying with the University or affiliates may apply.
* There are also AUC-wide "competitive" scholarships for up to 20 staff and 25 students, awarded on a competitive basis across the whole AUC. Staff and students from any AUC university may apply for these scholarships, which are more valuable than the allocated scholarship.
* Scholarship details are on the AUC website, at <http://www.auc.edu.au/WWDC+Scholarships>. Staff scholarships cover most but not all of the likely cost of attending WWDC.
* Conference details are expected to appear on Apple's Developer website, at <http://developer.apple.com/wwdc/>
Key dates:
* 31 March 2010 - closing date for AUC-wide competitive scholarship applications
* 07 April 2010 - closing date for allocated scholarship applications at Melbourne
* 19 April 2010 - AUC-wide scholarship winners announced
* 20 April 2010 - allocated scholarship result announced
* WWDC 2010 - June 2010 (exact dates yet to be confirmed)
If you are in a position to do so, would you please bring this opportunity to the attention of staff and students who might benefit.
The Details
Apple's World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC)
WWDC is an annual event, held at the Moscone Conference Center in San Francisco. This year, it is expected to be held in June, but Apple have not yet announced the dates.
It attracts about 5000 delegates from all over the world, from government, technology and other industries, and from universities. A lot of Apple's software engineers attend too; there is usually something like one Apple engineer present for every three or four other delegates. It is the premier event for those who develop software for MacOS X (for Mac, or for iPhone/iPad). And, with rare exceptions, it is the only event at which Apple discusses future developments in any detail.
The main content at WWDC is about developing software for MacOS X - the basic essentials, the software development tools, integrating MacOS X features, handling rich media and graphics, using WebKit to provide web functionality in your app. These sessions are about developing applications, not content, for Mac and iPhone (and iPad and iPod touch).
There are also some sessions on media (QuickTime) and Enterprise IT.
Most of the conference sessions are intensely programmer-oriented - before very long, the slides contain source code. To really benefit from these sessions, you need to be a programmer, preferably with good knowledge of Objective-C and/or Java.
Further details about WWDC 2010 are expected to appear on the official website: <http://developer.apple.com/wwdc/>.
The AUC WWDC Scholarships
The AUC has a long history of providing WWDC scholarships. As a general rule, it is expected that the scholarship recipient (or his or her department) will pay up-front, and receive re-imbursement upon presentation of the appropriate receipts and after delivery of a publishable report on the conference.
Further details about the AUC WWDC Scholarships are available at
<http://www.auc.edu.au/WWDC+Scholarships>.
Scholarship recipients are expected to share the benefit by providing the AUC with a short report of publishable quality.
It is unusual for a person who has attended WWDC on an AUC scholarship in recent years to win another scholarship, unless they have in the interim developed and shared some useful MacOS X or iPhone software. For the AUC-wide competitive scholarships, people who attended WWDC with AUC support in 2008 or 2009 are ineligible, and those who attended with AUC support in 2007 will get reduced priority.
For any of the scholarships, I would advise people who have developed MacOS software (or other software for that matter) to include a link to the product, if that is possible. It helps the selection committee quickly appreciate programmer credentials.
AUC-wide Competitive Scholarships
Competitive scholarships are open to staff and students of any AUC member university, of which one is the University of Melbourne. Staff of affiliates may apply too. The scholarships include WWDC registration (arranged by the AUC for staff, and provided by Apple for students).
Student scholarships winners receive free registration from Apple, plus reimbursement of up to $3000 from the AUC. Staff scholarship winners receive conference registration paid by the AUC (approximate value $1500) and reimbursement of up to $2500.
The scholarships are on a receipted-reimbursement basis, payable to the person or the University depending on how the expenses were met in the first place. For staff, claims may be made against seven nights accommodation (room and tax only) and airfare. Students may claim against those items and also against travel insurance and the cost of Student Membership of the Apple Developer
Connection.
Broadly speaking, the student scholarships cover most of the travel and accomodation (twin-share four star) cost. Staff traveling on that basis will likely need about $500 over and above the scholarship. None of the scholarships provide any funding for incidental expenses. Those who choose not to share a room will require further funding to meet the additional cost, which
would be a about $800. Additional AUC funding is possible but only in very special circumstances.
The AUC wishes to encourage AUC-supported delegates to stay at the AUC-recommended hotel, and so the claimable amounts will be reduced by $400 for those who choose to stay elsewhere.
In awarding the AUC-wide Competitive Scholarships, the AUC is looking for software developers who are likely to develop and share software of value to many AUC members, not just the person themself or his of her university. The people most likely to win these scholarships are people who can take full advantage of the Mac and iPhone software development sessions. The selection process aims to maximise the value of the scholarships to the AUC as a whole.
Up to 20 scholarships will be awarded to staff, and up to 25 scholarships will be awarded to students.
For students and staff, applications must be made online, from <http://www.auc.edu.au/WWDC+Scholarships+Apply>. The closing date is 31 March.
Students applying for a competitive scholarship should be prepared to provide a current academic record, and proof of age. Unfortunately, it is not possible for people under the age of 18 to attend WWDC. It is also useful to provide proof of enrollment; and only in exceptional circumstances would the AUC consider awarding a scholarship to a student not carrying at least 75% of a full-time load.
Staff applying for the competitive scholarship should have the approval of their Head of Department or appropriate manager to attend.
It would be useful for me to know who has applied; if applicants would drop me a line on email after applying, that would be great. If the application is copied to me, it will also be considered for the allocated scholarship. My understanding is that student applications will not be considered by the AUC unless I am in a position to indicate support.
I would be pleased to advise any staff member or student who is considering applying.
Allocated Scholarships
The University has one allocated scholarship for a staff member to attend WWDC (it is not unheard of for the AUC to grant special dispensation to allocate this to a student). The scholarship has a value of up to $2000 towards airfares and accommodation; conference registration is provided also. Reimbursement and other conditions are the same as outlined above for the competitive scholarships.
In awarding the allocated scholarship, a broader view is taken and it is quite possible for allocated scholarships to go to people who are not programmers but for whom there would be benefit (for them and the University) in the media and enterprise IT sessions. Staff of affiliates may apply. The selection process will aim to maximise the value to the University of the allocated
scholarship.
The allocated scholarship application form is available for download from the AUC WWDC website <http://www.auc.edu.au/WWDC+Scholarships+Apply>, and needs to reach me by 5pm on 7 April, via email to syoung@unimelb.edu.au.
In addition to the information required by the form, applicants should indicate:
* Whether they would be prepared to accept a reduced subsidy, to allow two people from the University to attend WWDC 2010 on partial scholarships. In principle, the AUC would meet us half way on the extra cost of sending two people (the "half-way" calculation does take into account the cost of registration as well as the reimbursement allowance).
* How they believe attending the conference will help them in their present or foreseeable future role in the University.
It would be to applicants' advantage to include a letter of support from their supervisor, Head of Department, or a similarly appropriate person.
It is possible that the allocated scholarship may be not be used for WWDC; there is the option to have instead more subsidized places at X-World and other AUC events in Australia. The present process is only for those seeking a scholarship for WWDC 2010.
Stephen Young
Apple University Consortium Development Fund Coordinator
University of Melbourne
03 8344 6598; syoung@unimelb.edu.au
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University of Melbourne AUC people:
AUC Delegate
Andrew Yeoh, 8344 2810, a.yeoh@unimelb.edu.au
AUCDF co-ordinator
Stephen Young, 8344 6598, syoung@unimelb.edu.au
This page, its content and style, are the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the views, policies, or opinions of The University of Melbourne.
