In 2021, with support from AWS, PILOT created the NextGen TV Fellowship as an immersive program designed to educate and introduce a diverse pool of students with practical experience to the television broadcast industry. The experiential learning program provides hands-on application development to college students who work with industry experts to leverage the capabilities of the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard. It is based on providing demonstrable and proven ideas for actual on-air implementation and developing the next-gen talent behind the work.
2024-2025 School Year
The 2024-2025 PILOT NextGen TV Fellowship program began on October 25, 2024, when the new group of fellows visited the NAB Technology Lab in Washington, D.C. for orientation and hands-on experience with NextGen TV Applications and services. The 2024-2025 program includes students from Howard University, the University of Missouri and the University of Minnesota. The three teams demonstrated their finished projects at the 2025 NAB Show in Las Vegas.
The 2024-25 PILOT NextGen TV fellows visited NAB Headquarters in Washington, D.C. to kick off this year’s program. Pictured left to right are University of Missouri students Praise Aruwajoye, Mikayla Higgins, Kenney Jackson and Kavya Ramesh; Howard University students Justin Davis, Emily Jones, Richard Brobbey, Rickelle Jones, and Jordan Thomas; University of Minnesota students Eitan Schoenberg, Carter Dooner, Varshini Bomma and Emily Glickman
2023-24 School Year
PILOT kicked off the third annual PILOT Next Gen TV Fellowship program on November 3 at NAB headquarters in Washington, D.C. The 2023-24 program expanded and included students from Howard University and the University of Missouri.
The 2023-24 PILOT NextGen TV fellows talked with FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez before their presentations at the 2024 NAB Show.
(pictured left to right) Amanuel Hailemariam, Charles Dake, Emmarah Kouadio, YaSin Abdul-Musawwir, FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, Teshi Waruingi, Shannon Worley, and Rachel Ibihwiori.
The Howard University team worked with Pearl TV and used the RUN3TV platform to develop a companion application for WHUT’s TV series, DMV:The Beat. The University of Missouri team worked with SpectraRep to develop a prototype datacasting application to distribute health information.
The 2023-24 fellows from Howard University are YaSin Abdul-Musawwir, Film and Television, Junior; Rachel Ibihwiori, Computer Science, Senior; Emmarah Kouadio, Interactive Media and Computer Science, Senior; and Teshi Waruingi, Computer Science, Senior. From the University of Missouri, the fellows are Charles Dake, Finance, Senior; Amanuel Hailemariam, Information Technology, Senior; and Shannon Worley, Journalism, Senior
2022-23 School Year
During the 2022-23 School year, PILOT worked with representatives from the Howard University College of Engineering and School of Communications to expand the Fellowship program to 4 students: Naisha Flechier, Brent Piper, Bipul Gyawali, and Kritish Pokharel. These fellows participated in the NAB Leadership Foundation’s Technology Apprenticeship Program and focused on NextGen TV in concert with the NAB lab at 1M. Scripps-owned KTVN broadcasted the fellows’ application in Las Vegas during the NAB Show in April 2023.
Howard University students and NextGen TV Fellows after demonstrating their weather application at the 2023 NAB Show. Left to Right: WHUT Director of Engineering Louis Crozier, Howard University Associate Professor of Computer Science Dr. Todd Shurn, PILOT Executive Director John Clark, Naisha Flechier, Brent Piper, Bipul Gyawali, Kritish Pokharel, NAP VP of Innovation Alison Neplokh, WHUT General Manager Sean Plater
2021-22 School Year: The Inaugural Year
Howard University students and inaugural NextGen TV Fellows, Sulaiman Bastien and Mikaela Mosley presenting their application,
The Fellowship began with the 2021-22 school year at Howard University. NAB was part of the Howard University NextGen Broadcast Collaborative. A major goal of the collaborative was to create a leading showcase and NextGen TV service incubator for the broadcast industry. PILOT managed the fellowship for two Howard University Students, Mikaela Mosley and Sulaiman Bastien, to develop a NextGen TV application that was demonstrated at NAB Show in April 2022.