UW CSE MSR Summer Institute 2023

Rural Computing

About

The 2023 Summer Institute, cosponsored by the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington and Microsoft Research will be held at the Semiahmoo Resort in Blaine, Washington from the evening of August 20 through mid-afternoon August 23, 2023. Semiahoo is approximately ninety miles north of Seattle and 40 miles from Vancouver, BC.

Overview

Over the last decade, the Internet has rapidly expanded into all phases of our lives including diverse areas such as finance, commerce, transportation, education, and health. Unfortunately, despite large initiatives such as Starlink, many rural communities remain under connected to the Internet, underserved by Internet-centric services, and unable to leverage Internet-connected advances such as IoT or edge compute. The stark difference between rural and urban connectivity was demonstrated throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, where essential societal functions such as primary school education were brought online.

To this end, the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington and Microsoft Research are bringing together a diverse set of researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to explore topics around rural computing, with a specific focus on our home of the Pacific Northwest. We will explore a broad range of topics, expanding beyond connectivity to the use, design, and ownership of computing for rural-centric use cases. Example areas include ag-tech, community networking, STEM education, spectrum policy, tribal connectivity and ownership, computing impacts on rural communities, and related areas.

Organizers

Kurtis Heimerl, Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering
Ranveer Chandra, Microsoft Research
Vaishnavi Ranganathan, Microsoft Research

Descriptions of past summer institutes may be viewed at www.cs.washington.edu/events/mssi/.

Last updated June 23, 2023.