Exploring Opportunities: A Guide to UC Berkeley's Machine Learning and Tech Clubs

The University of California, Berkeley, is a hub of innovation and learning, offering a plethora of opportunities for students interested in machine learning (ML), computer science (CS), and related fields. This article provides an overview of the diverse clubs and organizations available at UC Berkeley, highlighting their activities, focus areas, and how they contribute to the vibrant tech community on campus.

Empowering Communities Through Technology

Several organizations at UC Berkeley focus on using technology to address social issues and empower underrepresented communities.

ANova: Computer Science Education for Underserved Communities

ANova is a student organization dedicated to improving computer science education in under-resourced communities across the Bay Area. Partnering with middle and high school teachers and administrators, they develop customized curricula for each classroom. ANova mentors visit schools weekly to teach computer science concepts or assist local teachers. They also host ANova Hacks, an annual hackathon that provides students from under-resourced backgrounds with their first hands-on exposure to computer science. Members participate in weekly site visits and meetings and work on essential internal and external tasks. While a strong technical background is not required, a diversity of experiences and backgrounds is encouraged.

Blueprint: Tech for Social Good

Blueprint's mission is to make beautiful engineering accessible and useful for those who create communities and promote public welfare. As a student organization, they use technology to build applications and bring knowledge to local non-profit organizations that are making social change. Each semester, teams of five students work with these organizations to implement technologies for efficiency and accessibility. Projects are year-long, with different teams working on them in the Fall and Spring. Blueprint also has an external team that performs essential functions to keep the club running. Weekly team meetings, working meetings, and club-wide meetings are part of the typical week. Blueprint primarily uses React and Ruby on Rails for projects.

Code the Change: Technology for Social Impact

Code the Change empowers computer scientists to use their technical skills for social good through non-profit projects. The Berkeley chapter offers a DeCal program for students with less experience in computer science, providing them with a chance to learn web development while working on a project for a nonprofit organization.

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Fostering Innovation and Technical Skills

UC Berkeley boasts a wide array of clubs that focus on developing specific technical skills and fostering innovation in various fields.

Blockchain at Berkeley: Exploring Decentralized Technologies

Blockchain at Berkeley is a university-based organization dedicated to serving the crypto and blockchain communities. With over 60 active undergraduate and graduate students from Berkeley Engineering, Haas, and Berkeley Law, along with advisors from industry and academia, the organization focuses on developing blockchain solutions for Fortune 500 companies. Their capabilities range from Proof of Concepts to advisory and consultancy. The application process involves a short quiz on blockchain concepts, and each department has a department-specific selection process.

Cloud at California: Mastering Cloud Computing

Cloud at California is UC Berkeley’s Largest Cloud Computing Organization and provides UC Berkeley students with opportunities to learn and apply cloud technologies. Members develop hands-on skills in cloud infrastructure, data analytics, machine learning, and more through workshops and consulting projects. In the past, they have worked with companies including Amazon and Accenture, as well as research labs in UCSF and MIT.

Codebase: Software Development for Tech Companies

Codebase builds a community where passionate and driven engineers can grow together through meaningful industry initiatives. Codebase usually has 4 client projects for companies and a mentored project, meant for freshmen or sophomores with no experience. Client projects consist of 2 web and 2 ML projects, and mentored projects are usually with nonprofits. Mentored projects allow members to see what working in industry is like and learn about web development while being guided by a mentor in the club. Weekly club-wide general meetings and team meetings are part of the typical week. No experience is required for the mentored projects, which are targeted toward freshmen and sophomores.

Data Science Society: Building Data Science Skills

Data Science Society at Berkeley is UC Berkeley’s first undergraduate student organization focused on Data Science. Established on the pillars of education, professional development, and community, Data Science Society has a long-standing record of helping students build their data science skills through learning opportunities and cultivating an academic and professional environment by connecting students with industry leaders and researchers. Members in the club participate in the General Member Program, where students with any experience level work in groups of 5 to complete a data science project throughout the semester under the guidance of a mentor. Students showcase their projects at a Research Symposium at the end of the semester.

Generative AI at Berkeley: Exploring the Frontiers of Artificial Intelligence

Generative AI at Berkeley is the biggest Generative AI student organization at UC Berkeley. They focus on exploring the groundbreaking field of Generative AI as well as its transformative potential applications. Members collaborate on diverse projects that combine technical and creative work: applying cutting-edge technologies such as Stable Diffusion and LLMs to real-world problems or exploring new forms of artistic expression through multi-modal AI. They offer a space for anyone simply seeking to learn more about Generative AI and find others who share that interest.

Launchpad: AI/ML for Meaningful Technology

Launchpad is a project-based organization that develops applications using artificial intelligence and machine learning. Members work on projects such as music generation, image and music classification, and reinforcement learning in robotics. They also like to hold external events to contribute to the general Berkeley CS community. Each semester, they have 5 project groups with around 8 people each, led by a student who has researched and discovered a problem which could be innovatively solved with AI.

MDB (Mobile Developers of Berkeley): Mobile Development and Beyond

MDB provides a collaborative environment for members to grow their technical skills while building the next generation of software products. MDB is well-known for its new member training program, which is a rigorous, semester-long program that all new members go through meant to take somebody from 0 mobile development experience to being proficient at mobile development. Android and iOS development are the 2 tracks that new members choose from, and at the end of the program, new members have to publish an app (which they build from scratch themselves) onto the app store. Weekly Hackshops are part of the typical week, and new members have a substantial number of extra meetings on top of this.

Robotics at Berkeley: A Hub for Roboticists

Robotics at Berkeley aims to create and maintain a financial, social, and informational hub for undergraduate roboticists at UC Berkeley.

Space Technologies at Cal: Advancing Space Technology

Space Technologies at Cal is a UC Berkeley based student organization aiming to create a multi-campus initiative to advance space technology.

Space Enterprise at Berkeley (SEB): Reaching for the Stars

Space Enterprise at Berkeley (SEB) is a multidisciplinary undergraduate space program aiming to be the first collegiate team to launch a rocket into outer space.

Supporting Academic and Professional Growth

Several organizations provide academic support, professional development, and networking opportunities for students in computer science and related fields.

Computer Science Mentors (CSM): Guiding Students in Computer Science

Computer Science Mentors is dedicated to UC Berkeley’s community of computer science educators and students. CSM looks for mentors who have previous tutoring experience and mastery of the course they are applying to. In addition to tutoring, mentors attend weekly family meetings hosted by their senior mentors that help sharpen their mentoring skills and prepare them for the week ahead.

EECS Transfers at Berkeley: Building a Transfer Student Community

EECS Transfers at Berkeley aims to build a community and provide resources to better ensure academic success and career readiness for transfer students interested in the fields of EECS & CS.

Eta Kappa Nu (HKN): The Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences Honor Society

Eta Kappa Nu (HKN) is the Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences honor society. The Berkeley (Mu) chapter is among the most active engineering societies at Cal, providing a variety of services to the students and staff at Berkeley. They offer free drop-in tutoring in both of their offices, 345 Soda and 290 Cory, from 11am to 5pm Mondays through Fridays. In addition, HKN has a long history of assisting companies in coordinating infosessions and career fairs.

Upsilon Pi Epsilon (UPE): International Honor Society for the Computing Sciences

Upsilon Pi Epsilon is the first and only international honor society for the Computing Sciences. The Nu chapter of UPE at UC Berkeley was founded in 1995 and continues to serve Computer Science undergraduate students in the College of Computing, Data Science, and Society. They are committed to promoting more social interaction and communication, and relationships between undergraduate students, faculty, and industry in the computing discipline.

IEEE at U.C. Berkeley

The student chapter of IEEE at U.C. Berkeley provides lab services, promotes student professional awareness, participates in outreach programs, and serves as the backbone for student-industry networking in EECS.

Creating Inclusive and Supportive Communities

Recognizing the importance of diversity and inclusion, UC Berkeley has numerous organizations that support students from underrepresented groups in STEM fields.

AWE (Advancing Women in EECS): Empowering Women in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering

AWE is a supportive community at UC Berkeley that seeks to empower women pursuing Computer Science and/or Electrical Engineering.

BESSA (Black Engineering and Science Student Association): Supporting Black Students in STEM

BESSA is UC Berkeley’s National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) collegiate chapter. They provide a space for all folks within STEM, not limited to CS or engineering. Their mission is to increase the number of black engineers and scientist to excel academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community.

BGESS (Black Graduate Engineering and Science Students): Nurturing Academic and Social Support Systems

BGESS is dedicated to the nurturing of academic and social support systems for historically underrepresented students in the United States at UC Berkeley. Black Graduate Engineering and Science Students (BGESS) has been established for 31 years with a fourfold mission: recruitment, retention, and professional development of Black graduate students in STEM fields at Berkeley, along with outreach to the local community.

Bias Busters: Addressing Implicit Bias

Bias Busters is an organization run by students, faculty, and staff to address implicit bias issues in the EECS department.

DiversaTech: Celebrating Diversity in Technology

DiversaTech is a student-run technology consulting organization at UC Berkeley. They are firm believers that the most innovative and creative solutions arise from diversity of thought. Therefore, they form interdisciplinary teams of undergraduates from all corners of campus to connect, collaborate, and create.

FEM Tech: Promoting Gender Diversity in Technology

FEM Tech's purpose is to promote gender diversity and inspire women from all majors, backgrounds and sexual orientations to excel in technology careers. Through organized seminars, mentorship programs, training workshops, and networking events, FEM Tech provides a supportive community for students to create meaningful connections with like-minded women.

LAGSES (Latinx Association of Graduate Students in Engineering and Science): Increasing Diversity in STEM

LAGSES is an inclusive multicultural organization that strives to increase diversity on campus by recruiting, retaining, and graduating underrepresented advanced degree students in STEM. They aim to provide a support network for minority graduate students by organizing outreach, networking, and community service activities throughout the year.

QICSE (Queer in Computer Science and Engineering): Supporting Queer Graduate Students

QICSE is the organization of queer graduate students in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley. Providing monetary, informational, and administrative support for students.

Society of Women Engineers (SWE): Empowering Women in Engineering

Society of Women Engineers is a national nonprofit organization. Its objective is to encourage and empower women to reach their full potential as engineers. SWE strives to highlight the achievements and contributions of women as leaders and engineers. Supporting both students and professionals, SWE consists of over 17,000 members in 90 sections and 300 student sections.

WICSE (Women in Computer Science and Engineering): Supporting Women Graduate Students

WICSE is an organization that aims to support women graduate students in Computer Science and Engineering at the University of California in Berkeley.

Other Opportunities

Big Data at Berkeley

Big Data at Berkeley's projects division works on data analytics consulting projects with local companies, and their education division hosts an 8-week Big Data Bootcamp here at Berkeley for underrepresented, local high school students. A typical week consists of the respective divisions collaborating to complete tasks and meeting up to give progress updates. This could mean creating new activities for the boot camp curriculum or making visualizations to gain insights into new data.

Cal Hacks: Organizing the World’s Largest Collegiate Hackathon

Cal Hacks started with an annual hackathon in the Fall (Cal Hacks) but has since expanded to other events and initiatives such as: Cubstart: pre-hackathon program for first-time hackers, with mentorship, workshops, and talks to prepare participants and set them up for success at their first hackathon and Cal Hacks Fellowship: hackathon continuation program where teams at Cal Hacks are selected to receive funding to continue their project, with mentorship, talks, and other activities related to entrepreneurship.

Cognitivie Science Student Association (CSSA)

CSSA is an undergraduate organization at UC Berkeley whose mission is to support and enrich the academic life of anyone interested in the interdisciplinary study of the brain and mind. Cognitivie science involves fields such as neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, linguistics, computer science, social cognition, and others, to try to shed light on how the mind works. They regularly coordinate academic events such as guest lectures and information sessions; plan social events like professor-student dinners and cog sci themed gatherings; and work with cog sci faculty and university officials to provide assistance for students.

Computer Science Graduate Student Association

The Computer Science Graduate Student Association is the only student-run organization serving the CS graduate student community at Berkeley.

Computer Science Graduate Entrepreneurs (CSGE)

The CSGE (Computer Science Graduate Entrepreneurs) is an organization for graduate students, alumni, and faculty of the Computer Science department at UC Berkeley. Their vision is a thriving culture of entrepreneurship in the department producing the world’s most influential startups and entrepreneurs.

CS KickStart

CS KickStart is a one week introductory class in computer science designed for incoming freshman women at UC Berkeley.

CSUA (Computer Science Undergraduate Association)

The CSUA is a social computer science club dedicated to supporting the undergraduate computer science student body.

Electrical Engineering Graduate Student Association

The Electrical Engineering Graduate Student Association is a service and social organization within the EECS department at UC Berkeley. They organize prelim review sessions, provide peer advising services, and assist with new student orientation. In an effort to promote communication and camaraderie within the department, they sponsor social activities such as the weekly coffee hours.

Formula Electric at Berkeley

Formula Electric at Berkeley is a team of undergraduate and graduate students that designs, builds, and races a formula-style electric race car in the Formula SAE EV competition.

Game Design and Development Club

The Game Design and Development Club strives to build a community for anyone interested in gaming - whether it’s playing, creating, or discussing games. They run a DeCal that provides a structured approach and club programs that bring a more self-paced approach to learning game development. They also have a Discord community open to everyone interested in learning and collaborating on game projects.

Hackers at Berkeley

Hackers at Berkeley is an organization that fosters a culture of creation at Berkeley.

Innovate Berkeley

Innovate Berkeley aims to inspire innovation among students at UC Berkeley and beyond. Working at the intersection of technology, business, and education, they provide a holistic opportunity for all Cal students to entrepreneurially engage in the improvement of the student experience.

Machine Learning at Berkeley

Machine Learning at Berkeley's goal is to build a community around ML while bridging the gap between industry and research. Every semester, they work with companies to experiment and apply these techniques in novel ways. Their focus on the future of computer science through ML affords them many opportunities that they use to drive research and education. They sponsor several research projects on the bleeding edge of ML over the semester and host a range of classes and workshops.

OCF (Open Computing Facility)

The OCF is a student-run, student-funded organization and is dedicated to free computing for all University of California at Berkeley students, faculty, and staff.

PiE (Partners in Education)

PiE promotes science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education through an exciting, mentorship-based process. PiE is a student outreach organization based in UC Berkeley and was founded in 2008 by members of Tau Beta Pi led by Xiao-Yu Fu.

PlexTech

PlexTech is a tech club that’s supportive. It abides by one crucial mission: to equip motivated, ambitious, and eager students with the necessary technical skills to advance the modern technological landscape.

The BERKE1337 Computer Security Team

The BERKE1337 Computer Security Team is a group of computer security enthusiasts at UC Berkeley. Their mission is to organize, hack, defend, and educate their members in the field of security with particular emphasis on understanding emerging technologies and developing practical security skills.

The UC Berkeley AI Community

The UC Berkeley AI Community is being chartered with the sponsorship of several campus units to engage people, collectively spread our best ideas and thinking, and to act as an umbrella for work with, and in support of, AI at Berkeley.

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