Source of Ask for MLC compute assistance


  ## Cloud Compute

_Update for 2023: new grant has come in! Send us your proposal and we can get it set up._ 

In 2021 and 2022 MLC has the fortune to receive [GCP](https://cloud.google.com/gcp) grants from Google of $50k each year. We have been using it to support our members' research.

To apply for compute assistance, simply email `compute@mlcollective.org` with your proposal. You can arrange the content in your proposal in any structure that works, but the following components would be useful to include:

- Project name
- Project description (why is it worth working on)
- Project duration (an estimation is ok)
- Project cost (an estimation is ok)
- Expected outcome (e.g. a workshop paper, a blog post)
- References

Upon receiving your email, if your proposal looks good, our Compute Mods would be able to help you get set up with an GCP Project account. You will need to provide them:

1. a project name to be used as the Google Compute Project name
2. email accounts (have to be Google accounts) to add as project managers

Once you have a GCP project set up, here are some guides our members contributed on how to run ML projects:

 - David Drakard's [getting started template](https://github.com/ddrakard/tensorflow-on-gcp-quickstart)

## Physical Hardware
Sometimes we receive donations of [computers](https://twitter.com/ml_collective/status/1442703997903663108) and [GPUs](https://twitter.com/ml_collective/status/1587964809902891008). Watch our [News](https://mlcollective.org/#news) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ml_collective) for those occasions.

## Help channel
If you have any questions regarding asking for, setting up, or using MLC compute, we have a `#help-compute` channel on Discord. Members there are very helpful!