Scholarships Available - Anita Borg Institute - Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC) of Women in Computing, October 2 - 5, 2013

On behalf of the Anita Borg Institute and the Association for Computing Machinery, I would like to invite University of Technology, Sydney - Women in Engineering & IT students and staff to participate in the Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC), October 2 - 5, 2013 at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minnesota, USA.

GHC is the world’s largest gathering of technical women in computing.  Technical women gather to network, find or be mentors, create collaborative proposals, and increase the visibility of women’s contributions to computing. We are expecting over 4,000 attendees this year. Here are some ways you, other faculty, and students can participate in GHC:

GHC Scholarships for Students and Faculty – Application Deadline: May 15^th

Undergraduate, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows from around the world are encouraged to apply. The GHC Scholarships for students cover a combination of conference registration, meals, lodging, and fixed amount of travel reimbursement funds. Faculty, at all levels, are also encouraged to apply. The GHC Scholarship for faculty covers conference registration only.

‘ABI’ Awards given at GHC – Nomination Deadline: May 15^th

Nominate a colleague for one of the awards given at GHC:

·       ‘ABI’ Award for Social Impact

·       ‘ABI’ Award for Technical Leadership

·       ‘ABI’ Denice Denton Emerging Leader Award

·       ‘ABI’ A. Richard Newton Educator Award

·       ‘ABI’ Change Agent Awards

Please let me know if you have any questions about the conference or these opportunities to participate.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Kindest regards,

Tina

Tina Pratt

Program Manager, Academic Initiatives and New Program Development

Anita Borg Institute 

+ 1 - 650.857.2419 OFFICE

tinap@anitaborg.org

www.anitaborg.org | www.gracehopper.org

Alternative Funding Opportunities
Please note: UTS students can apply for BUiLD grants (undergraduate and postgraduates) from UTS:International and Faculty researchers can apply for FEIT conference funding to present at these conferences.

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Getting Hands on with STEM

198 female high school students from 30 schools around NSW and the ACT gathered at the University of Technology, Sydney for the 2013 bi-annual Women in Engineering and IT Hands On Day on Friday 5 April. The day consisted of  interactive activities which encourage 13-18-year-old female high school students to consider engineering and IT as a career option.

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) activities included:

• simulating earthquakes and learning about the power of amplitudes and frequencies with UTS’s remote lab
• the chance to learn the basics of Javascript, one of the world’s most common programming languages
• using magnets, batteries and wires to make an artificial heart and
• discovering how robots can be used to save lives following natural disasters
• careers talks from various UTS Alumni including Daphne Chong, Senior Software developer at Mi9.

Thanks to UTS’s strong links engaging with industry the day also featured representatives from Engineers without Borders, UTS Motorsports, UTS Centre for Health Technologies, ARC Centre of Excellence for Autonomous Systems, Commonwealth Bank, Microsoft, Tech Girls are Chic- Not Just Geek, Females in  IT and Telecommunications(FITT) and Symantec; as well as staff and student societies from the Faculty of Engineering and IT.

The Faculty’s Equity & Outreach Coordinator Laura Waibel said events like Hands On Day are important in convincing high school girls of the long-term societal benefits of studying and working in IT and Engineering.

‘’These industries are extremely important in shaping a sustainable and technology-driven future and women are currently underrepresented in both engineering and IT. We're hoping to change that one female high school student at a time because individuals regardless of gender and society as a whole stands to benefit from increased female participation in engineering and IT,’’ said Ms Waibel whose team were impressed by the energy of students at Hands On Day – particularly those who woke early to make the journey from Newcastle and the far south coast.

The next Hands On Day takes place on 6 August. Places fill up quickly so teachers are encouraged to book places early. Parents are encouraged to register their daughters to attend if schools are not able to allow an excursion.

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