Projects

Want to work with an EA-focused organization or startups and help develop a high-impact solutions? Check out this semester’s list of projects below!

We also support student-designed and led projects that are aimed to improve the world around them!

Self-directed Projects

Current Projects

Projects Intake Form

Past Student-led Projects

  • Insect Welfare Reading Group, by Kevin Korevaar

    At any given moment, 10 quintillion insects go about their lives - eating, drinking, reproducing, and eventually dying. Their numbers dwarf the numbers of Earth’s mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and even fish. Do these insects feel pain or emotion? Do they have moral value? If they do, what responsibility does humanity have to its distant insect relatives? This fall, Effective Altruism at Berkeley will be hosting a reading group to learn about insect welfare and to discuss insect ethics. Topics will include wild animal suffering, the effects of environmental change on insects, the relationship of insects and agriculture, and the treatment of insects as pests. Come join us if you’re interested!

  • Alternative Meats Book, by Armina

    My role is to contribute to the research and writing of a consumer focused book that can help the general public have a better understanding of plant based alternatives and their impacts, and which consumer consumption decisions are the most beneficial to the individual and the planet. It's often difficult for consumers to understand the complexities of new industries and technologies, and making informed choices to live a more sustainable and healthy life is not always straightforward. The general goal of the book is to make it easier for the general public to understand what personal decisions have bigger impacts and how we can work together to create effective sustainable change.

  • Hackathon

    The EAB Hackathon is an upcoming community-built event designed for college students, in partnership with Superlinear. Participating students will be presented with an open-ended challenge and will have multiple opportunities to learn and network with professionals working in the same problem space. The goal of this event is to get technically skilled students who are not involved with effective altruism in touch with EA organizations and learn about meaningful career paths. If you are interested in contributing to this event or want to learn more, please reach out to Ganesh Pimpale at ganeshmp@berkeley.edu.

  • Donation Drive, by Stella McKay

    A donation drive selling vegan snacks to raise donations for high impact charities, such as the Against Malaria Foundation (AMF).

    Impact: Donated $500, which buys about 250 nets. For context, the AMF estimates that 600 nets prevent the death of one child and also prevent 500 to 1,000 cases of malaria. In our situation, that would be about 160 to 330 cases.

I’m a UC Berkeley student who’s involved with Effective Altruism! How do I start a project?

  • Submit a Project Proposal Form

Using our Project Proposal Template, make a copy of the form and write in your project idea. When you’re finished, send the form to muhammed.bakr@berkeley.edu along with a short intro about why you think you’re a good fit to run this project.

  • Wait for Project Approval (or don't)

If you’d like for your project to be officially associated with EA Berkeley, your project will have to be approved by the executive board. The terms of support from the board will vary by project but could include support applying to funding, official club advertising, one-on-one meetings, etc..

Projects will not be automatically approved. Project proposals may need to be edited before the board approves them and some projects may never be approved (too risky, require too much oversight, we’re too unfamiliar with the people hosting the project, the topic is not related enough to EA).

Without the club’s support, you can still apply for funding and execute your project on your own, but it will not be affiliated with the EA Berkeley organization.