Applications for Protostars Season 6 will open on Friday 11 January and close at 11:59 PM on Sunday 4 February.
The cohort goes for 8 weeks.
It’s designed to be fairly light but with enough content to help us build community, and complete our projects. Typically we will meet once a week via Zoom. And we share project updates weekly via our group chat.
The more you put in the more you’ll get out of it but also we understand life is busy and everyone will be able to participate in whatever way suits them. We understand that this is a side project and that you have other priorities in life.
What Protostars is not is a highly structured learning program. While we do offer learning content and modules, the program is not built around this. At Protostars we focus on relationships and building confidence through community and creativity. Homework and learning tasks completed outside of our weekly catchups aren't our vibe.
There are two rounds to the application process.
Applications typically stay open for 3-5 weeks, and the judging and selection process can take up to 4 weeks.
There are two rounds to the application.
In Round 1, you will submit a written application where we ask about you, your passion project, and how you might contribute to the Protostars community. This is a mix of multiple-choice and short and long-answer questions. In total, we estimate that Round 1 applications should take around 30 minutes to complete and submit.
If you are successful in Round 1, you will progress through to Round 2.
Round 2 is where you submit a video application.
It’s pretty simple: you just have to film and submit a short 1-minute video explaining what your project is, why you’re passionate about it, and a little bit about yourself. This is where we want to get to know your personality and who you are!
Once Round 2 submissions close, all applications will be judged and assessed by a judging committee comprising of Blackbird and Startmate team members, and Protostars alumni.
If you get awarded the grant, you agree to share at least three progress updates at a minimum with Blackbird. You will be expected to participate in the program, but how much time you commit is up to you.
The grants are available to young people aged between 16-25 based in New Zealand or Australia with a creative project in mind.
You can apply with any type of project; we are particularly interested in supporting projects that are unique, personally meaningful, and can reach a defined milestone in the next 3-6 months.
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