<aside> 🌟

If you make the effort, communicate, and explore with curiosity, we think you’ll have a great experience in SPAR!

Getting the most out of your project

1. Prepare for meetings with your mentor

2. Outline your goals

3. Reach out for help when needed

4. Make the most of the SPAR community

5. Apply yourself

Failure modes to avoid

1. The planning fallacy
2. Not communicating proactively
3. Treating SPAR like a box-ticking exercise
4. Indecision and partial commitment
5. Not making the most of your mentor </aside>

Getting the most out of your project

1️⃣ Prepare for meetings with your mentor

• This allows you to use your time efficiently and make sure everything important gets addressed.
• We suggest spending 15 minutes or so drafting some notes on your progress, uncertainties, things you’re stuck on, and anything else you’d like to discuss, and sending them to your mentor some time in advance

2️⃣ Outline your goals

• Having a clear, concrete, and specific idea of exactly what you want to achieve during the program is important for helping your project stay on track.
• Use the Research Project Planning Template (or an alternative if your mentor has provided one), or keep a simple list of what your main goals, objectives, tasks, and deliverables are.
• Reflect on how SPAR can help you and what steps you can take to ensure you meet your objectives (this might imply e.g. being intentional with coffee chats, or making sure you ask your mentor for career advice).

3️⃣ Reach out for help when needed

• Your mentor, teammates, and the SPAR staff are all great sources of guidance and can improve your experience.
• If something isn’t clear, don’t hesitate to ask questions or ask for help.
• Remember, SPAR is designed to foster growth, and there’s no need to pretend you have all the answers already!

4️⃣  Make the most of the SPAR community

• SPAR is not only about completing your project: it’s also about developing your talent and ability to do brilliant AI safety work, and equipping you with the knowledge and network to put these skills to use.
• One of the key resources available to you is your peers: make the most of them!
  • Have a low bar for reaching out & asking to chat with other participants (but be respectful & understanding if they decline/don’t have time to meet).
    • The people you meet through SPAR could end up being brilliant friends, professional acquaintances, or even potential collaborators on future projects.
  • Similarly, have a low bar for building community around & outside of SPAR itself: we’d be very excited to see strong community networks seeded by program alumni.
• We strongly encourage all fellows to engage with our community & ‘opt-in’ initiatives:
  • Make use of SPAR Community Grants to host community socials in your area (or online)
  • Sign up for Coffee Chats — 1:1 calls with other SPAR mentees with similar interests.
  • Be proactive in sharing co-working links, forming discussion groups, and more: we want fellows to feel empowered and supported in doing this.
  • Join the SPAR calendar, and attend workshops & talks!
• Your mentor is a great resource and is well-connected in the AI safety field. Use their expertise and network to help you reach your learning and career goals.

5️⃣ Apply yourself