Code of Conduct

      Spark Platform

      1Purpose

      This Code of Conduct sets the standard of behavior expected from everyone using SPARK — ETL Online's collaboration, communication, and project management platform. It applies wherever SPARK is used: within Communities, Channels, project Spaces, mentorship sessions, and any associated communication.

      2Core Principles

      • Respect — Treat every member, regardless of role, university, or experience level, with courtesy and professionalism.
      • Integrity — Represent your work, credentials, and contributions honestly.
      • Accountability — Take ownership of your commitments, meetings, milestones, mentorship sessions, and feedback.
      • Collaboration — Engage constructively; SPARK exists to connect people who are here to learn and grow.

      3Expected Behavior

      • Communicate professionally.
      • Give and receive feedback constructively; critique the work, not the person.
      • Respect confidentiality: don't share another user's project details, personal information, or private discussions outside the platform without consent.
      • Use real, accurate information in profiles, project submissions, and credentials.
      • Respond to requests (advisor requests, mentorship requests, meeting scheduling) within a reasonable time, and formally decline rather than ignore.

      4Role-Specific Responsibilities

      Students

      • Submit original project work; disclose any external tools, code, or datasets used.
      • Attend scheduled meetings/sessions or notify in advance if unable to.
      • Provide honest closure feedback about the advisor/mentor relationship.

      Advisors / Mentors

      • Accept only requests within your genuine domain expertise.
      • Provide constructive guidance; if rejecting a request, give a clear and respectful reason.
      • Avoid favoritism; evaluate all students/mentees on merit.

      Faculty

      • Monitor assigned projects' progress in good faith.
      • Support the advisor-student relationship without overriding the advisor's guidance.

      University Admins

      • Enable the "Request Advisor" feature responsibly, and manage channel-level settings fairly across all students.
      • Respect the boundary of your own university's data — do not attempt to access other universities' submissions.

      ETL Admins

      • Use platform-wide monitoring access solely for oversight and program health — not to intervene in individual requests or assignments outside defined processes.
      • Protect the privacy of feedback, rejection reasons, and personal data stored on the platform.

      5Prohibited Conduct

      • Harassment, discrimination, or abusive language of any kind (based on gender, religion, ethnicity, background, university, or otherwise).
      • Plagiarism or misrepresentation of project work, credentials, or identity.
      • Spamming, unsolicited promotion, or off-topic content in Communities/Channels/Spaces.
      • Sharing another user's private information, files, or feedback without consent.
      • Attempting to manipulate the RP/SC economy or leaderboards (e.g., fake engagement, self-endorsement abuse).
      • Circumventing platform processes (e.g., contacting advisors outside the Request Advisor flow to bypass the domain-routing system).
      • Uploading malicious files, offensive content, or anything violating intellectual property rights.

      6Reporting & Enforcement

      • Violations can be reported directly to the ETL Admin team.
      • Repeated or severe violations (harassment, plagiarism, data misuse) may result in removal from the SPARK platform and, where applicable, referral to the user's university.

      7Acknowledgment

      By using SPARK, all users — students, mentors, advisors, faculty, and admins — agree to uphold this Code of Conduct in every Community, Channel, and Space they participate in.