The Public Interest Technology University Network is pleased to announce the launch of the Multi-institution or Regional Career Fair Mini Challenge on February 15, 2023.

The Challenge aims to support the development of a PIT-focused career fair/career exploration that will provide students with valuable opportunities outside of the classroom through internships, apprenticeships, community service, work-based learning, job shadows, and even PIT jobs after graduation.

Anyone at a PIT member institution may respond to this RFP announcement, however, each individual is only able to submit 2 responses. Grant awards of up to $20,000 will be made around April 15, 2023, and must be concluded with final reports due December 15, 2023. The application portal launches on February 15, 2023, and will remain open until March 30, 2023. No late applications will be accepted. Grantees will be announced on April 12, 2023, and the Grant Term is April 15 - December 15, 2023.

Successful fair(s) will:

• Go beyond local opportunities by engaging employers across the region, or by partnering with another institution
• Facilitate direct interaction between students and employers interested in improving lives through technology and government
• Empower PIT-UN member institution’s Career Services staff to become key players in developing the PIT pipeline
• Provide students with valuable learning opportunities outside of the classroom through internships, apprenticeships, community service, work-based learning, job shadows, or jobs after graduation.
• Aim to inspire the next generation of diverse and skilled public servants to pursue government careers in public safety, emergency response, social services, research, or another PIT-relevant field

Open office sessions to answer your RFP questions will be held weekly using Zoom, starting on February 17, 2023, from 12:00 pm (noon) EST through 12:50 pm EST until the grant RFP close date on March 30, 2023.

The full RFP Guidelines, Eligibility, Grant Awards, and Timeline can be found here on this page. Attached is a PDF of the RFP and a PDF of the submission application fields. In order to draft a strong proposal, we recommend that you reach out as soon as possible to civic groups, employers, local and regional government agencies, and K-12 or community college systems whom you could collaborate with on a regional career fair. The application will require letters of support from partners to verify that the fair will indeed be regional or multi-institutional in scope.

Please send any questions to [email protected]; we look forward to seeing your application!