December 2023 Newsletter | Women in Computer Science

Return your F23 WiCS Study Room Fobs

All WiCS Study Room Fobs must be returned by December 20th, 2023. The fobs will deactivate at the end of the term, so if you would like to continue using the WiCS Study Room, you will have to fill out the form made at the beginning of next term and get a new fob.

This term, there are two options to return your fobs:

You can drop your fob off in the key return box by the CS Administration Office on the ground level of DC. (It is a black box on the left-hand side.)
You can return your fob to the WiCS co-op in DC 2332. If no one is in the office, you can put the fob in an envelope with your name on it and slide it under my door.

Volunteers Wanted: Technovation Girls Waterloo

Technovation Girls is a free, 12-week program that equips girls and young women+ (including transgender, gender non-binary, and gender fluid) ages 10-18 with the skills to become tech entrepreneurs and leaders. With the support of volunteer mentors, students work in teams to code mobile apps or AI solutions that address real-world problems they’ve identified.

Technovation Girls needs many volunteers to make things happen. People like you! Read below to learn some more information about the volunteer roles we have available.

Logistics Support at Kick-Off Event/Monthly In-Person Sessions: Help the events run smoothly by assisting with set-up/take-down, facilitating registration and child pick-up, distributing food and refreshments, and being on-call for assistance. Volunteers are needed for a few specific dates from January to April 2024.
Coach or Ad-Hoc Mentor at Monthly In-Person Sessions: Answer questions and provide feedback to Technovation Girls teams at our monthly sessions. Coaches act as a consultant in many areas, including: technical code/app development, business and entrepreneurship, AI, presentations and pitches, and videography. Expected time commitment is 2-4 hours a month.
Mentor for a team throughout January-April: Mentors are assigned to a team of Technovation participants and act as their project manager throughout the term! You don’t need to be an expert on technical subjects, you just need to be willing to support your team and keep them on track. Consider volunteering if you are on co-op! (It is harder for students on study term to be a mentor because final push for the project submission is during the exam period). We recommend co-mentoring with a friend or a WiCS peer. Expected time commitment is ~2-3 hours a week from January to April.
App Inventor/Thunkable Coach: Are you a Technovation Girls alum? Are you able to serve as a App Inventor or Thunkable coach to this year’s teams? If you are interested in helping out but are not in a position to be a team member, consider volunteering for one of WiCS’s Technovation workshops for local teams and helping to answer questions that teams/mentors have about their project.

If you are interested in any of the above positions, visit https://technovationchallenge.org/ and https://uwaterloo.ca/women-in-computer-science/youth-programs/technovation-girls-waterloo to learn more and click the link below to indicate your interest in volunteering.

Location: On-campus and within the KW Region

New Math Faculty 2SLGBTQIA+ Student Group

A group of individuals are interested in forming a new group for 2SLGBTQIA+ undergraduate and graduate students. The group will be student-led, and there is a call for students who are interested in being involved in these efforts. Please sign up if you are interested in attending the organizational meeting. Please feel free to contact the Faculty of Mathematics Equity Office (matheqcp@uwaterloo.ca) if you have any questions.

Rewriting the code

RTC is a nonprofit organization empowering a free community of 17,000+ college and early career women in tech. Join us as a member or partner! They are a peer-to-peer network for students and junior professional women in tech. It’s free to join the community and engage at any level. They never charge for access to their private, online community of women.

Find out more information here.

WiCS Innovation Fund

The WiCS Innovation Fund supports student-initiated activities such as hackathons, workshops, conferences, and much more, that support women and non-binary students in computing. WiCS will give out two awards worth $500 this fall, and another two in the winter!

If you’re interested, send an email to wics@uwaterloo.ca with an explanation of the use (e.g., organizing an event, attending a conference or hackathon) and what you will get out of attending. The Fund will sponsor future events only (not past events).

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