Events

Global Cafe: Spring 2026
2026-05-06 14:00 - 16:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Classroom Unit, Classroom Unit, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, Select a Country:
International Student Services & Programming invites you to our monthly Global Cafe, a space for all international-minded community members to connect. Swing by for some refreshments and an opportunity to meet other international students and scholars, as well as Global Engagement staff. Feel free to drop in at any time between 14:00 – 16:00 and stay for as long as you’d like.
Our spring Global Cafe dates:

Wednesday, April 8
Wednesday, May 6
Wednesday, June 3

Drop-in Figure Drawing
2026-05-06 19:00 - 21:00 | Elena Baskin Visual Arts Center, Baskin Service Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Drop-In Draw provides a live model and room monitor. There is no formal lesson and only dry media is allowed (no paints).
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ADVISORIES
– These events contain mature content and nudity.
– Drop-In Draw is subject to the possibility of last-minute cancellation without notification, and sessions are not guaranteed.
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ADMISSION
– FREE and open to the public
– UCSC Art Department Room M-101
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FULL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
This series occurs weekly on Wednesday evenings during spring quarter, including the following:
Wednesday April 1, 2026, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Wednesday April 8, 2026, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Wednesday April 15, 2026, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Wednesday April 22, 2026, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Wednesday April 29, 2026, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Wednesday May 6, 2026, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Wednesday May 13, 2026, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Wednesday May 20, 2026, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Wednesday May 27, 2026, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
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PARKING
– Parking by permit or ParkMobile.
– Arts Lot #126 is the closest parking lot to the event.
– Visitors with DMV placards or plates may park for free in DMV spaces, Medical spaces, or ParkMobile spaces without additional payment, or in timed zones for longer than the posted time.
– More information provided by UCSC Transportation & Parking Services (TAPS).
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This program is open to all members of the public consistent with state and federal law.

Survivor Circles: Healing After Trauma
2026-05-07 10:30 - 12:00 | Hahn Student Services, Hahn Student Services, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
CARE’s Healing After Trauma survivor circles are an in-person, drop-in space to share and connect on the glimmers & struggles of recovering from harmful sexual experiences. Guided and led by CARE advocates, each week’s session will offer an opportunity to engage with a different alternative healing modality – from sound healing, to art therapy, collective rest, and more.

Fill out an Interest Form for more information.

Please note: The interest form is not required for attendance, nor a registration form – registration is not necessary for these events.

You Belong Here: The programs and services described here are open to all, consistent with state and federal law, as well as the University of California’s nondiscrimination policies. Every initiative—whether a student service, faculty program, or community event—is designed to be accessible, inclusive, and respectful of all identities. To learn more, please visit UC Nondiscrimination Statement or Nondiscrimination Policy for UC Publications.

Younger Lagoon Reserve Tours
2026-05-07 10:30 - 12:00, 2026-05-09 10:30 - 12:00 | Seymour Marine Discovery Center, 100 McAllister Way, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060
Younger Lagoon Reserve tours are free and open to the public. Space is limited to 18 participants. Call 831-459-3800 or sign-up online. Virtual tours are available online. seymourcenter.ucsc.edu.

Defeating Academic Burnout with Self-Efficacy
2026-05-07 12:00 - 12:45 | Academic Resources Center (ARC), 408 McHenry Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
In this workshop, you will: Learn how developing your self efficacy can combat burnout through a mindful reflection activity.
The Successful Slug Workshop series, hosted by Learning Support Services Peer Coaches, are open to all UCSC undergraduate students and focus on academic skills and tools to support your success as a student. At each workshop, you will be introduced to a topic, engage in active learning, be given resources to begin implementing the same day, and have an opportunity to learn more if you are interested.
You Belong Here: The programs and services described here are open to all, consistent with state and federal law, as well as the University of California’s nondiscrimination policies. Every initiative—whether a student service, faculty program, or community event—is designed to be accessible, inclusive, and respectful of all identities.
To learn more, please visit UC Nondiscrimination Statement or Nondiscrimination Policy for UC Publications.

Spring Exhibitions at the Institute of the Arts and Sciences
2026-05-07 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-05-08 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-05-09 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-05-10 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-05-13 12:00 - 17:00 | Institute of the Arts and Sciences, 100 Panetta Ave, Santa Cruz, United States
Visit the IAS, UCSC’s premier art galleries, for our spring exhibitions. On view April 10–August 16, 2026 are three diverse and interdisciplinary shows: Libia Posada: Everything is Going Right, the first US solo exhibition by the Colombia-based artist and medical doctor; Gina Athena Ulysse: A Redwoods Rasanblaj, a site-specific and immersive exploration of the Haitian kreyol conception of rasanblaj; and Ronaldo V. Wilson: There Are No Words, But Melodies, a mixed-media exhibition emerging at the intersections of Black poetics, performance, and visual art.
The IAS Galleries are open Wednesday-Sunday, 12 pm – 5 pm. Admission is free to the public.
Libia Posada: Everything is Going Right
Libia Posada’s first solo exhibition in the United States features installations, sculptures, and drawings meticulously constructed from surgical instruments, gauze bandages, crutches, used books, and domestic picture frames. The new and existing works in the exhibition powerfully stitch together the personal, social, and political disorders and afflictions that currently trouble the world, from the wars that resonate across the globe to the violences of aging in US prisons.
Gina Athena Ulysse: A Redwoods Rasanblaj: Origins & Disentanglements
The internationally-lauded work of humanities professor Gina Athena Ulysse is on view as a premier Faculty Spotlight Exhibition. The site-specific installation, produced in community from things collected, found, purchased and donated, centers on the Haitian concept of rasanblaj, a form of assembly and collage that transcends the formal use of materials to draw together people, spirits, and ideas.
Ronaldo V. Wilson: There Are No Words, But Melodies
Collage is both a material practice and a structural interrogation in the Faculty Spotlight Exhibition artworks by literature professor Ronaldo V. Wilson. In video, painting, and installation, layers and folds conceal and reveal, delving into the experience, both bodily and emotive, of living in times of violence.

Visualizing Abolition Screening Series: Beyond Access
2026-05-07 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-05-09 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-05-10 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-05-13 12:00 - 17:00 | Institute of the Arts and Sciences, 100 Panetta Ave, Santa Cruz, United States
On view in the IAS Screening Room is a selection of short films curated by Visualizing Abolition Visiting Faculty Fellow Dr. Pooja Rangan.
Prisons deny and censor the access of those trapped inside them—to information, to intimacy, to community, to meaningful work, to nourishment of all kinds, and perhaps most cruelly, to care. This program assembles a series of films, including works by filmmakers incarcerated in California as well as others without that lived experience. Together, these works confront the debilitating impacts of these restrictions and reveal how the disabling logic of the prison is extended to other institutional spaces (the hospital, the university), turning access into a scarce commodity by enclosing what should be held in common. Questioning the carceral and state-sponsored productions of disability and accessibility, the short films together reveal the courage of people working despite limitations to produce collective access for one another, described simply and beautifully by disability justice activist Leah-Lakshmi Piepzna Samarasinha as “revolutionary love without charity.”
Thanh Tran
Dying in Prison, 2022
HD Video (color, sound), 3 minutes
Courtesy of the artist
Carolyn Lazard
Pre-Existing Condition, 2019
HD video (color, sound), 6 minutes
Courtesy of the artist and Trautwein Herleth3
Anthony Alejandrez
Another Rainy Day, 2023
Phone video (color, sound), 3 minutes
Courtesy of the artist
Jordan Lord
After…After… (Access), 2018
HD Video (color, sound), 16 minutes
Courtesy of the artist
Rahsaan “New York” Thomas
Friendly Signs, 2023
Video (color, sound) 21 minutes
Courtesy of Tommy Wickerd, Empowerment Ave & System Impact Media

Black on the Block
2026-05-07 13:00 - 14:00 | Crown Provost House, 660 Crown Service Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Join the African American Resource & Cultural Center every Thursday from 1–2 p.m., at the front of the Ethnic Resource Center for Black on the Block, a weekly tabling and engagement space.
Stop by to learn about campus resources, upcoming programs, and ways to get involved. It’s a casual, welcoming space to ask questions, make connections, and build community. All are welcome.
You Belong Here: The programs and services described here are open to all, consistent with state and federal law, as well as the University of California’s nondiscrimination policies. Every initiative—whether a student service, faculty program, or community event—is designed to be accessible, inclusive, and respectful of all identities.
To learn more, please visit UC Nondiscrimination Statement or Nondiscrimination Policy for UC Publications.

Social Movements Across Generations: A Film Screening and Platica with Carmen Perez Jordan
2026-05-07 17:00 - 19:30 | Cultural Center – Merrill College, 641 Merrill Rd, Santa Cruz, 95064, United States
When: Thursday, May 7, 2026
Where: Cultural Center at Merrill, UC Santa Cruz, 641 Merrill Rd, Santa Cruz, CA 95064
Time: 5:00-7:30pm, doors open at 4:30pm

Join us for an evening of reflection, storytelling, and dialogue rooted in the legacy and future of social movements. The program will feature a screening of Following Harry, a powerful documentary that offers an intimate look into the life, mentorship, and enduring influence of Harry Belafonte. Through personal stories and behind-the-scenes moments, the film captures how Belafonte shaped generations of organizers, artists, and leaders committed to justice, highlighting the deep connections between culture, movement building, and moral courage.
The film also features Carmen Perez-Jordan, a former UC Santa Cruz student, whose journey reflects the impact of Belafonte’s mentorship and the power of intergenerational leadership. Her story offers a personal lens into how movements are sustained, carried forward, and reimagined by new generations.
Following the screening, we will hold a plática with Carmen Perez-Jordan and Daniel “Nane” Alejandrez, two leaders whose work reflects the very legacy explored in the film. Together, they will engage in a conversation on movement-building across generations, the importance of mentorship, and what it means to lead with purpose in today’s social justice landscape.
This evening is an invitation to connect the past with the present, honor the shoulders we stand on, and imagine the future we are called to build together.

For questions or accommodations, please email elcentro@ucsc.edu.

Parking and Check-in: Parking is available via ParkMobile at Parking Lot 119. ADA parking is available at Parking Lot 119 with an ADA placard. Free parking is available at the East Remote lot starting at 5:00 PM. Please let us know if you need any accommodations and/or ADA parking in the form below.

Sponsored by: Chancellor’s Office, Dolores Huerta Research Center for the Americas, Latin American and Latino Studies, Stevenson College, College 9, John R Lewis College, Alumni Engagement, Lionel Cantu Queer Center, and Office of Leadership and Involvement.

Support El Centro: El Centro’s programs are made possible through a combination of student fees, supplemental grants, and the generous support of alumni, allies, and community members. Make a donation today using our secure online platform.

Rasanblaj as Spirit Turn: Gina Athena Ulysse in Conversation with Jennifer González
2026-05-07 18:00 - 19:30 | Institute of the Arts and Sciences, 100 Panetta Ave, Santa Cruz, United States
Please join us for a conversation between Gina Athena Ulysse and Jennifer González, discussing Ulysse’s solo exhibition Redwoods Rasanblaj: Origins & Disentanglements.
The internationally-lauded work of humanities professor Gina Athena Ulysse is on view at the IAS as an inaugural Faculty Spotlight Exhibition. The site-specific installation, produced in community from things collected, found, purchased and donated, centers on the concept developed by the artist of “rasanblaj”, a form of assembly and collage that transcends the formal use of materials to draw together people, spirits, and ideas.
The artist will be joined in conversation by noted art theorist and scholar Jennifer González, professor of history of art and visual culture.

Goal Setting
2026-05-08 13:00 - 13:45 | Academic Resources Center (ARC), 408 McHenry Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
In this workshop, you will: Set SMART goals to help you get organized & on track for success.
The Successful Slug Workshop series, hosted by Learning Support Services Peer Coaches, are open to all UCSC undergraduate students and focus on academic skills and tools to support your success as a student. At each workshop, you will be introduced to a topic, engage in active learning, be given resources to begin implementing the same day, and have an opportunity to learn more if you are interested.
You Belong Here: The programs and services described here are open to all, consistent with state and federal law, as well as the University of California’s nondiscrimination policies. Every initiative—whether a student service, faculty program, or community event—is designed to be accessible, inclusive, and respectful of all identities.
To learn more, please visit UC Nondiscrimination Statement or Nondiscrimination Policy for UC Publications.

Music on the Meadow—April in Santa Cruz
2026-05-08 16:00 - 18:00 | Music Center Recital Hall, 400 McHenry Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Music On The Meadow (MOTM) presents “Episode 0: Music with the Meadow.” MOTM showcases engagement from students, artists, scientists, scholars, and culture bearers, who engage in “listening with the meadow” through genre-defying works. MOTM is a site for low-key (but not low-quality or low-impact) celebration, gathering, mourning, remembering, rethinking, unlearning.
This event is presented as part of the April in Santa Cruz Festival of Creative Music.
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ADMISSION
– Free and open to the public
– Attend in-person at Kretschmer Plaza, the outdoor courtyard adjacent to the Music Center Recital Hall at UC Santa Cruz
– Open admission (no ticket or registration required)
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PARKING
– Parking by permit or ParkMobile
– Arts Lot #126 is the closest parking lot to the event
– Visitors with DMV placards or plates may park for free in DMV spaces, Medical spaces, or ParkMobile spaces without additional payment, or in timed zones for longer than the posted time.
– UCSC affiliates must purchase their permits before arriving at the event in order to receive their discounted UCSC rate. Attendants will only sell the non-affiliate-priced permits.
– More information provided by UCSC Transportation & Parking Services (TAPS)
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FULL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
– This year’s festival includes seven events between April 15 and May 21, 2026
– Additional April in Santa Cruz events and information at aprilsc.ucsc.edu
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MUSIC ON THE MEADOW
AN ECOSYSTEM BEYOND A FESTIVAL
image: Great Meadow—UCSC (view, landscape, scenic, field, meadow, sky, clouds, ocean, bay, trees, blue, green)
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This program is open to all members of the public consistent with state and federal law.

AA/PI/SWANA Heritage Night Market
2026-05-08 17:00 - 21:00 | Upper Quarry Amphitheater, 15 McLaughlin Drive, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Save the date and join the Asian American/Pacific Islander Resource Center (AA/PIRC) on Friday, May 8th from 5-9pm at the Quarry Amphitheater as we celebrate Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Southwest Asian & North African Heritage with a Night Market!
More details about our second annual AA/PI/SWANA Heritage Night Market are coming soon. This FREE event is open to all UCSC community affiliates and will feature food, vendors, games, activities, and performances — all showcasing the diverse talents and cultures among our communities.
RSVP at bit.ly/aapiswana-nm26 to get email reminders for the event, and please complete our interest form at bit.ly/aapirc-nm26 if you are interested in joining our planning committee, being a day-of volunteer, tabling, performing, and/or vending.
You Belong Here: The programs and services described here are open to all, consistent with state and federal law, as well as the University of California’s nondiscrimination policies. Every initiative—whether a student service, faculty program, or community event—is designed to be accessible, inclusive, and respectful of all identities.

UCSC Wind Ensemble
2026-05-08 19:30 - 21:30 | Music Center Recital Hall, 400 McHenry Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Join the UC Santa Cruz Wind Ensemble for a spring concert.
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ADMISSION
– General admission.
– Free for UCSC students (ticket required).
– Tickets available through Eventbrite only.
– Follow the Music Dept on Eventbrite for notices and updates.
– Doors are scheduled to open 30 minutes prior to event start time.
– Ticket holders not seated at least 5 minutes before the advertised start time may forfeit their ticket/seat and no refund will be issued.
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PARKING
– Parking by permit, ParkMobile, or $11 cash/credit via the on-site parking attendant
– Arts Lot #126 is the closest parking lot to the event
– Visitors with DMV placards or plates may park for free in DMV spaces, Medical spaces, or ParkMobile spaces without additional payment, or in timed zones for longer than the posted time.
– More information provided by UCSC Transportation & Parking Services (TAPS)
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This program is open to all members of the public consistent with state and federal law.

ABC Ensemble and This Never Happened—April in Santa Cruz
2026-05-09 19:30 - 21:30 | Music Center Recital Hall, 400 McHenry Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Pianists/experimentalists Amy Beal and Ben Carson, and friends in the This Never Happened Ensemble, present a concert of toys, noise, open-questions, and a love of play, including one piece involving no fewer than five concert grand pianos. Featuring the music of Shanna Sordahl, Marc Perez, Mexican composer Rodrigo Barriga Lopez, and legendary experimentalists Johanna Beyer and David Mahler.
This event is presented as part of the April in Santa Cruz Festival of Creative Music.
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ADMISSION
– Free and open to the public
– Attend in-person at the Music Center Recital Hall at UC Santa Cruz
– Open admission (no ticket or registration required)
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PARKING
– Parking by permit, ParkMobile, or $11 cash/credit via the on-site parking attendant
– Arts Lot #126 is the closest parking lot to the event
– Visitors with DMV placards or plates may park for free in DMV spaces, Medical spaces, or ParkMobile spaces without additional payment, or in timed zones for longer than the posted time.
– UCSC affiliates must purchase their permits before arriving at the event in order to receive their discounted UCSC rate. Attendants will only sell the non-affiliate-priced permits.
– More information provided by UCSC Transportation & Parking Services (TAPS)
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FULL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
– This year’s festival includes seven events between April 15 and May 21, 2026
– Additional April in Santa Cruz events and information at aprilsc.ucsc.edu
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ABC ENSEMBLE
THIS NEVER HAPPENED

image: photo of R. Barriga, bass
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This program is open to all members of the public consistent with state and federal law.

Reyna Grande – Migrant Heart
2026-05-11 19:00 - 20:00 | Bookshop Santa Cruz
Bookshop Santa Cruz welcomes award-winning author Reyna Grande (The Distance Between Us) back to the store to celebrate the release of her newest book Migrant Heart: Essays About Things I Can’t Forget—an ambitious memoir in essays that illuminates the hidden cost of the American Dream and the complex journey of healing that follows survival. Grande will be in conversation with Sylvanna Falcón, Professor of Latin American and Latino Studies at UC Santa Cruz.
Migrant Heart is a powerful testament to Grande’s role as a storyteller and cultural witness. It is an essential, moving read that continues to expand what we understand about the United States and the complex people who cross and live within its borders. It is a book for anyone seeking to understand the true price of belonging and the enduring power of finding one’s voice.

Reyna Grande is an award-winning author, motivational speaker, and writing teacher. As a young girl, she crossed the US-Mexico border to join her family in Los Angeles, a harrowing journey chronicled in The Distance Between Us, a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. Her other books include the novels A Ballad of Love and Glory, Across a Hundred Mountains, and Dancing with Butterflies, the memoirs Migrant Heart, The Distance Between Us: Young Readers Edition, and A Dream Called Home, and the anthology Somewhere We Are Human: Authentic Voices on Migration, Survival, and New Beginnings. She lives in Woodland, California, with her husband and two children. Visit ReynaGrande.com for more information.
Sylvanna Falcón is a Professor of Latin American and Latino Studies at UC Santa Cruz. She is the winner of the 2016 Gloria Anzaldúa Book Prize from the National Women’s Studies Association and of a teaching award from the Division of Social Sciences at UC Santa Cruz.
More information at: Bookshop Santa Cruz – Reyna Grande

This event is cosponsored by Latin American and Latino Studies and The Humanities Institute at UC Santa Cruz.

Yoga as Healing Series
2026-05-12 18:00 - 19:30
Yoga as Healing is a 7-session trauma-informed yoga and mindfulness program hosted by UCSC’s CARE office. Spring Quarter classes will be held Tuesdays, 6:00–7:30 p.m. from March 31–May 12. Classes are free for students.
Each class facilitated by CARE Advocate Abbey Wise (she/ella), includes gentle, trauma-informed movement, breathwork, meditation and reflective journaling to support survivors in reconnecting with their bodies, building confidence and being present. Mats, blocks, blankets and journals are provided. Participants are encouraged to wear comfortable clothing and bring a water bottle.
CARE aims to build a consistent group of 8-10 survivors who can attend all 7 classes to foster the community, predictability and safety core to the trauma-informed structure of the program.
If you are interested in participating submit an application and a CARE Advocate will get back to you with further information. Location will be provided upon approval to participate.
Check out our schedule for the series:
3/31 — Orientation and Intention
4/7 — Safety & Grounding
4/14 —Self-Care as Daily Practice
4/21 — Embodied Boundaries
4/28 — Self-Compassion
5/5 — Inner Strength & Trust
5/12 — Cultivating Community
If you have previously attended Yoga as Healing, we would love to hear from you. Please complete our short, anonymous survey —your feedback helps us grow and improve our programming.
You Belong Here: The programs and services described here are open to all, consistent with state and federal law, as well as the University of California’s nondiscrimination policies. Every initiative—whether a student service, faculty program, or community event—is designed to be accessible, inclusive, and respectful of all identities.
To learn more, please visit UC Nondiscrimination Statement or Nondiscrimination Policy for UC Publications.

Carceral Media Ecologies—and How to Break Them
2026-05-13 09:30 - 17:00 | Institute of the Arts and Sciences, 100 Panetta Ave, Santa Cruz, United States
Organized by Pooja Rangan, Visiting Scholar, Visualizing Abolition, UCSCm Carceral Media Ecologies—and How to Break Them is the culminating in-person event in a series of conversations examining how contemporary documentary forms participate in both the making and unmaking of carceral power. This symposium brings together organizers, filmmakers, scholars and artists—both with and without experiences of mass incarceration—for a daylong conversation on disrupting the carceral state and its media ecologies across multiple scales of intervention: from feminist organizing and prisoner-initiated programs to incarcerated media production, participatory defense, counterforensic art, and legal advocacy.
RSVP
Symposium Program
9:30 am onward – Coffee + Pastries
10:00–10:15 – Welcome (Rachel Nelson + Pooja Rangan)
10:15–11:15 – Keynote: Gina Dent
Reflections on the work of feminist organizing in shaping an abolitionist media imaginary
11:15–11:30 – Break
11:30–1:00 – Panel: Fugitive Media (Keisha Knight, Thanh Tran, TBD), moderated by Rachel Nelson
A panel on media produced behind bars and the activism involved in building oppositional circuits of visibility and solidarity
1:00–2:00 – Lunch
2:00–3:30 – Panel: Counterforensic Advocacy (Ashraf Hamdan, Silicon Valley Debug, Sharon Daniel), moderated by Pooja Rangan
A panel on decarceral legal and policy interventions, including participatory defense, exoneree media, and counterforensic art
3:30–3:45 – Break
3:45–4:45 – Conversation: Adamu Chan + Gilda Sheppard, moderated by Gina Dent
A conversation on the challenges of pursuing anti-carceral aesthetics and the political stakes of speaking outside the carceral frame
4:45–5:15 – Reception

CSE Colloquium - The EU’s Cybersecurity Framework: what it is, what it means
2026-05-13 11:00 - 12:15 | Engineering 2, Engineering 2 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Presenter: Chris Jay Hoofnagle, Frederik Zuiderveen Borgesius, Lothar Determann, Pieter T.J. Wolters
Abstract:
The European Union has enacted a comprehensive cybersecurity framework (the “Framework”) that imposes far-reaching obligations on developers of standalone software and connected products. This Article describes the European legislative approach before turning to a description of the Framework. Anchored by the Cyber Resilience Act and the Cybersecurity Act, and reinforced by a constellation of sector-specific measures, the Framework effectively creates a California-like-products-liability regime for software. It mandates extensive security-by-design obligations, imposes stringent conformity assessment and incident-reporting duties, and shifts substantial compliance burdens onto manufacturers, importers, and distributors. It even treats emotional wrongs caused by software as injurious. The Framework will take full effect in December 2027, meaning that companies must integrate its requirements into their current product cycles.
Bio: Chris Hoofnagle is professor of law in residence at the University of California, Berkeley, where he teaches tort law and cybersecurity.
Hosted by: Professor Alvaro Cardenas
Location: Engineering 2, Room E2-180 (Refreshments such as fruit, pastries, coffee, and tea will be provided.)
Zoom Option: https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/93445911992?pwd=[REDACTED]

Engineering Teaching Community (Faculty)
2026-05-13 12:00 - 13:00 | Jack Baskin Engineering, Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
During the chaos of a quarter, is it hard to find time to reflect and improve as an instructor? Would you like to be a part of an inclusive, supportive group of engineering instructors who do this in community? ETC is for sharing teaching experiences, classroom ideas, research on learning, and methods that support instructors and students. All are welcome, and lunch is provided. Please reach out to Jenny Quynn with questions.

Research Lunch & Learn: Cost Sharing
2026-05-13 12:00 - 13:00 | https://events.ucsc.edu/event/research-lunch-learn-costsharing/
Join us on May 13, 2026, 12-1 p.m. for a session led by Deirdre Beach (Executive Director, Sponsored Programs) and Lindsey Demeritt (Executive Director, Research Financial Services), as they discuss the nuance and implications of cost sharing. This session will review the differences between mandatory and voluntary cost share, the requirements for committing cost sharing at proposal, and the mechanisms by which cost sharing is tracked throughout the award.
Join: Zoom link for this session.

Santa Cruz Launchpad Student Startup Competition & Job Fair
2026-05-13 12:00 - 19:00 | the Grove, 400 Beach Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060, United States
The 10th annual Santa Cruz Launchpad event combines a student startup competition with a community career fair, all under one roof! This year’s event takes place at the The Grove at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (400 Beach St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060) on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
The first half of the day spotlights emerging startups in a live startup competition, with cash prizes. The second half shifts into a job fair featuring 25+ local companies and 300+ opportunities, including part-time roles, full-time positions, and internships.
THIS EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC TO ATTEND. ADVANCED REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.

2026 Schedule
12-4pm: Student business plan pitches (open to the public)
4-4:45pm: Employer Table Setup
5-7pm: Job Fair + Networking (open to the public)
Student Startup Competition | 12-4pm
From 1-4pm, students will compete in a startup competition for cash prizes. The pitch competition portion of the event typically includes 12 student teams who each have five minutes each to deliver their pitches to a judge panel. Check out 2025 winners here. This year’s competition is open to both college and high school students in Santa Cruz County. If you are a student at UC Santa Cruz, Cabrillo College or a high school student in Santa Cruz County or Pajaro Valley Unified School District and would like to compete, click the button below.
Applications are due Wednesday, April 8, 2026 at 5pm: https://bit.ly/4d9MaqW
Pitch Prize Categories for 2026

• Biotech/Health (QB3) = $5,000
• Social Impact = $5,000
• Technology = $5,000
• Main Street = $2,000
• Runners Up = $500 each
• People’s Choice Award = $2,000
• High School Award = $2,000

– Top winners eligible to participate in the SC Accelerates program.
– All teams will receive Santa Cruz Works Perks Package by OneValley (Value $1M)

– Every team that qualifies for the final round will receive a cash prize!

Job Fair | 5-7pm
From 5-7pm, job seekers will have the opportunity to interact with 20+ local companies offering 200+ jobs and internships ranging from engineering to marketing, healthcare, project management, sales, customer support, tech, and more.
This event allows students, job seekers, and professionals of all experience levels and backgrounds the opportunity to show off their resumes, find career opportunities, and make new connections. There is no charge for job seekers to attend the job fair. The job fair is open to the public (you do not need to be a student or pitch contest participant to participate). But all attendees must register in advance! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/santa-cruz-launchpad-2026-tickets-1976673979082
Previous employers included Joby Aviation, Capstan Medica, Paystand, Santa Cruz Bicycles, Cruz Foam, Digital NEST, Bay Federal Credit Union, Mynt, Central California Alliance for Health, Unnatural Products, Santa Cruz Seaside Company, California Highway Patrol, BMO, PVUSD, and more.
A list of participating employers will be shared at the beginning of May.

This year’s event is proudly hosted by UCSC Center for Innovation and Development (CIED), UC Santa Cruz Innovation & Business Engagement Hub, UCSC Career Success, and UCSC QB3 Santa Cruz Works, Cabrillo College, , Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD), and Santa Cruz County Office of Education (SCCOE),

Free Attendee Registration

Employer Registration
