December 2022 Newsletter

Event Highlights:

WiCS Con 2023 – Registration is Open!

WiCS Con 2023 is open for registration! WiCS Con is a 1.5 day conference for CS students who identify as women, trans, non-binary, or gender nonconforming. In 2023, we will be offering WiCS Con to high school students as well! The conference program includes sessions on hot topics in computing, the hiring process, careers in computing, panels and mentoring circles, and more. Sessions are led by WiCS, senior students, and engineers and mentors from major companies including Google, Meta, Amazon, HRT, OpenText, and Microsoft.

WiCS Con 2023 will be held on January 20th and 21st, 2023 in a hybrid format to accommodate both in-person attendees and online attendees (so that you can participate even if you are on co-op). There will be plenty of networking opportunities available regardless of whether you attend in-person or online. Bookmark this link to stay tuned for more details about WiCS Con 2023. 

Event Date: January 20th and 21st, 2023

Location: Online via Hopin and in-person at the University of Waterloo

Register Here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wics-con-2023-tickets-464596991107

WiCS Con 2023 – Seeking Volunteers

We are looking for volunteers who want to help us run WiCS Con. Roles include

  • Workshop Instructor: Interested in giving back and attracting more women into CS?  Help run an interactive workshop for high school students. Materials exist for AI and Database workshops.
  • WiCS Ambassador / Session Chair: Interested in engaging with company reps? Serve as the ambassador for that company’s conference session, introducing the speaker and assisting with Q&A. This is a great opportunity to get involved if you are already planning to attend WICS Con in person.
  • WiCS Ambassador / Tech Support: Planning to attend online?  Some of our company reps are participating online only, and all conference sessions will have online attendees. Serve as the tech admin for an online session and ensure that online attendees have their questions answered as well.
  • Logistics: We could also use some help with logistics, the registration desk, signs, and laying out food during the conference.

Sign up with a friend, or use this as an opportunity to meet new friends and CS sisters!

Let us know about your volunteer interests and availability: https://forms.gle/Rn1u8Nz8zB3Wy24y5

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 January 14th (10am-2pm), February 4th, February 25th, March 25th, and April 15th (all 10am-1pm).
  • 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. This is a great opportunity for students on a work term. We also highly recommend co-mentoring with a colleague or friend. Expected time commitment is ~2-3 hours a week from January to April.

If you are interested in any of the above positions, visit https://technovationchallenge.org/ and https://uwaterloo.ca/women-in-computer-science/outreach/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

Register your interest here: https://forms.gle/hQ8CwMzwJV6HU3qw5

Survey: How does representation in STEM fields affect young girls in Canada

WiCS is happy to be sharing a survey created by a student at Jacob Hespeler Secondary School who is researching the underrepresentation of females in STEM fields and how it affects young girls who are looking to pursue this field. The student is looking to collect information about the experience of female STEM students in different universities. All responses remain anonymous and no personal information provided will be shared. The answers provided will be used in a research paper, so the student requests that you please be as elaborate and honest as possible.

Complete the survey here: https://forms.gle/qAPhL8sjs9Gmf4xBA

Women’s Datathon

Correlation One is excited to announce that, this upcoming February, they are partnering with Citadel to host the first ever Women’s Datathon, a data science competition that will bring the top quantitative women students in North America together. Participating students will be eligible for exclusive recruiting opportunities with Citadel, along with prizes of $15,000 USD!

The event is invite only, but is completely free to attend for those invited. The competition will be taking place in-person in Miami, Florida, and invited students will be flown out on an all-expense-paid trip. More information about their launch and the competition can be found here.

Location: Miami, Florida

Sign-Up Here: https://www.citadel.com/careers/the-data-open/apply/?apply_to=womens-datathon

WiCS Study Room

The WiCS Study Room opened in August 2022. The purpose of the room is to be a meeting place where WiCS students know they can meet and study with other WiCS students, making it easier for WiCS students to find like-minded peers and role models. As a secondary benefit, the room also serves as a space where WiCS students can take a short break from being in the minority.

To get the code to access the study room, attend Little WiCS’ office hours! You can view the schedule for their office hours on their website (https://wics.uwaterloo.ca/).

Learn more about the WiCS Study Room on our website (https://uwaterloo.ca/women-in-computer-science/wics-study-room)!