Neuromatch Academy is committed to creating a collaborative, open, and inclusive teaching and learning environment. All Neuromatch Academy students, teaching assistants, affiliated faculty, organizers and Github contributors are expected to adhere to this Code of Conduct.
Participants or affiliates of Neuromatch Academy who are asked to stop any inappropriate behaviour are expected to comply immediately. This applies to any Neuromatch Academy events and platforms, either online or in-person. If a participant engages in behaviour that violates this Code of Conduct, the organisers may warn the offender, ask them to leave the event or platform (without refund), or engage Neuromatch Academy Diversity Committee or Ombuds Office to investigate the Code of Conduct violation and impose appropriate sanctions, decided via majority vote of the Diversity Committee. If the complaint involves a member of the Diversity Committee or Ombuds Office, that member must recuse himself or herself from the discussion and vote.
Violations of the Code of Conduct should be reported by filling out our Code of Conduct Violation Reporting form. Complaints may be made anonymously and are visible only to members of the Neuromatch Academy Ombuds Office.
We welcome and support people of all backgrounds and identities. This includes, but is not limited to members of any sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, social and economic class, educational level, color, immigration status, sex, age, size, family status, political belief, religion, and mental and physical ability.
We all depend on each other to produce the best work we can as an organization. Your decisions will affect students, teaching assistants, and colleagues around the world, and you should take those consequences into account when making decisions.
We won't all agree all the time, but disagreement is no excuse for disrespectful behavior. We will all experience frustration from time to time, but we cannot allow that frustration become personal attacks. An environment where people feel uncomfortable or threatened is not a productive or creative one.
Always conduct yourself professionally. Be kind to others. Do not insult or put down others. Harassment and exclusionary behavior aren't acceptable. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Threats of violence.
- Insubordination.
- Discriminatory jokes and language.
- Sharing sexually explicit or violent material via electronic devices or other means.
- Personal insults, especially those using racist or sexist terms.
- Unwelcome sexual attention.
- Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior.
In general, if someone asks you to stop something, then stop. When we disagree, try to understand why. Differences of opinion and disagreements are mostly unavoidable. What is important is that we resolve disagreements and differing views constructively.
We can find strength in diversity. Different people have different perspectives on issues, and that can be valuable for solving problems or generating new ideas. Being unable to understand why someone holds a viewpoint doesn’t mean that they’re wrong. Don’t forget that we all make mistakes, and blaming each other doesn’t get us anywhere. Instead, focus on resolving issues and learning from mistakes.
Neuromatch Academy is not a degree-granting institution, and so does not consider performance (e.g. survey scores or even survey/content quiz completion) in granting completion certificates. However, we expect you to respect basic academic integrity principles all the same.
We take academic integrity to mean adherence to the following values:
- Honesty
- Trust
- Fairness
- Respect
- Responsibility
- Courage
More information on academic integrity and these values can be found at the International Center of Academic Integrity.
Whether you are a student or TA, be honest in your applications and in your potential reasons for missing tutorial or project time. Take responsibility for your mistakes and work to remedy them. Don’t take the course under someone else’s name or identity: your certificate is awarded to you if you finish the course under our attendance policies, not if someone else logs in pretending to be you. Even if our completion certificates aren’t part of a degree, they still mean something to all your classmates and TAs, as well as your current or future supervisor or employer. Work to build trust between you, your podmates, your TA, and the NMA organizers.
Neuromatch Academy reserves the right to update this Code of Conduct at any time and without notice.