One of JOPRO's Four Pillars

Community & Network

Connecting people and organizations across the landscape through events, shared resources, and a curated network of mission-aligned groups.

JOPRO is a network organization as much as a research one. A good deal of our work happens in rooms that are open to people with no formal relationship to us: reading groups, discussion series, professional development sessions, and events hosted with partners. This page is an overview of that work, both the sessions we convene, as well as the efforts led by others that we support. You can find recordings of some of our public sessions, and other events, on the JOPRO YouTube page, and watch for new public-facing events on our Luma Calendar.

Public sessions we convene

Recurring, and open to participants outside JOPRO.

  • Cognition Futures Reading Group

    of the Cognition Futures program , housed within the Cognition Futures working group

    A weekly discussion group of neuroscientists, cognitive scientists, and others taking an intentionally multidisciplinary approach to the past, present, and future of natural and artificial minds.

  • DigiNEST Discussion Series

    of the DigiNEST program , housed within the Society, Ethics & Technology working group

    Sessions on how narratives are shaped by technology, alternating with studio time where projects, software, and creative endeavors are given space to grow, in combination with other JOPRO incubation efforts.

  • Modernizing Mental Health Discussion Series

    of the Modernizing Mental Health program , housed within the Mental Health Paradigms & Perspectives working group

    Social workers and data scientists navigating the emerging mental health space — from current events and happenings, to the DSM and its developments, to how mental health professionals are trained — with a particular lens on the effect technology has both on the practice of delivering mental health support and on individuals using AI to self-treat or seek companionship.

  • Professional Development segments

    of the Joint Open Source Summer Cohort program

    Discussions of what it is like to work in software development and research spaces, with a particular emphasis on open source and open science practices, centered on the challenges of mixed-source and proprietary work and the broader range of what building technologies in the modern era actually involves.

  • Directors' Table Forthcoming

    of the From Here to There program

    Experienced mentors leading innovation spaces on managing open science against private-sector needs, educational practice both conventional and cutting-edge, and how those directing labs and communities of practice maintain functionality and cultivate the means for multidisciplinary work to happen — co-produced with Orthogonal Research and Education Lab.

Supporting our network

Work led by partner organizations, where JOPRO participates, contributes programming, or provides mentoring and program support.

NYCWiC

JOPRO members have helped organize ACM's New York Celebration of Women in Computing, and has contributed panels on professional development and careers in innovation, most recently the Future of Work and Tech Careers panel at NYCWiC 2026.

Neuromatch Academy

Project and professional mentoring across Neuromatch, its conference series conference, Neuromatch Acadmy programs, and adjacent curriculum development. Multi-org collaboration with Orthogonal Research and Education Lab.

ekkolápto

We attend, promote, and contribute to ekkolápto's salons and events. JOPRO exhibited at the AugLab Summit at the MIT Media Lab, held in collaboration ekkolápto and the Augmentation Lab.

Plot Twisters

A sister group with cross pollenation on projects. Most recently, JOPRO has participated in playtesting and related work, including the Small Hassles Court project under MetaGov's Governable Spacemakers Fellowship.

Brain Inspired: Complexity Discussion Group

JOPRO member regularly attend and support this discussion series around foundational papers in Complexity Science.

Partnerships in Development

JOPRO is currently exploring partnerships with many groups around responsible technology development, cutting edge practices in teaching and mentoring, and other mission-aligned communities.

Get started with our community

Not sure where to begin?

Not every interest maps neatly onto the routes above. If you have a question about joining one of our sessions, want to explore a partnership, or think there's something here worth talking about but aren't sure where it fits, reach out. We would rather hear the question than have you guess.

Get in touch through our contact form →