What is the Interact Fellowship?
The Interact Fellowship is a two-year program for mission-driven technologists. Interact Fellows come together annually in Northern California for a fully-sponsored Fellowship Retreat; upon graduating from the program, Fellows join the broader Interact community, composed of 350 technologists doing work across the globe.
What is the Fellowship Retreat?
Interact’s annual Fellowship Retreat – what we’ve called “Interact” historically – is the foundational Retreat for the Interact Fellowship. We accept 50 new Fellows each year and bring them together in Northern California with the 50 returning Fellows. After two years, Fellows graduate into the larger Interact community. This year's retreat will be at The Land from July 25-28, 2019.
What happens at the Fellowship Retreat?
The Fellowship Retreat brings 50 new and 50 returning Interact Fellows together for three days in Northern California. We rent out a lodge and spend the weekend hiking, swimming, and conversing. Meals are eaten together with our venture partners, but most of your time is your own. We’ll prepare you with an itinerary ahead of the Retreat itself – it's a truly magical weekend.
How much does the Fellowship Retreat cost?
Nothing! It is important to us that the retreat is financially accessible to all applicants. We subsidize your lodging, meals, and travel to and from the retreat location. We will bus everyone from San Francisco to the retreat location on Thursday evening and return to San Francisco on Sunday. We provide significant travel refunds for those traveling to San Francisco from outside the Bay Area.
What is the history of the Fellowship Retreat?
Interact was founded in 2012, bringing together our first group of 100 Fellows. Over the years, what started as a social experiment has evolved into a strong, dedicated community of Fellows, united each year at the annual Fellowship Retreat.
What are the eligibility requirements for applying to Interact?
The only requirement is that Fellowship applicants are between the ages of 18 and 23 – with rare exceptions for 24-year-olds. We look for diverse applicants who are (1) peculiarly insightful, (2) open-minded conversationalists, and (3) self-starters who have a track record of taking risks.
Who are Interact Fellows?
Interact aims to bring together Fellows from all backgrounds, fields of study, and areas of expertise who share an interest in technology and an enthusiasm for making an intentional impact. They gather from around the world as students, artists, startup founders, designers, software developers, engineers, AI researchers, environmentalists, biologists, and more.
What is it like to be a part of the larger Interact community?
Being in “Interact” is much like being a Fellow. After two years of attending the Fellowship Retreat, community members are invited to the annual Interact Retreat, bringing together all Fellowship Alumni in the broader Interact community. Between retreats, the community gathers for frequent events such as happy hours, dinners, and discussion groups hosted throughout the year. As we grow (and age!), we’ve also invested in connecting and keeping up with each other virtually - via our newsletter, Facebook pages, Slack channel, and internal forum.
Who are Interact’s partners?
Interact partners with some of the world’s leading venture capitalists, who lend their voices to our conversations and support our community with their advice and experience.
