WiCS Con 2024 Sessions

Applying for co-op or full-time positions this term? Even if your resume has been looked over in PD1, it is wise to have someone in the tech industry provide feedback on what a resume for a technical position should look like. This session will start with a presentation on resume tips and advice, followed by 1:1 sessions with industry mentors. Bring a copy of your resume!

Note: The presentation is hybrid but the 1:1 critiques are IN PERSON ONLY!

Join Meta for a technical interview bootcamp to help you Crush Your Coding Interviews. This workshop will prepare you to do well in software engineering interviews. We’ll cover: 

• How to write a great resume 

• Talk through an algorithm problem 

• How to brainstorm solutions 

• How to discuss the problem with your interviewer 

• How to write (and test) code on a whiteboard 

Speakers

Amy Qiu (Software Engineer)

Amy is a Software Engineer at Meta. Amy is a Waterloo CS co-op '20 alumni. She interned at Microsoft, Google, Meta, Citadel and Deepmind. She is currently a backend engineer on the Facebook Metrics team where she is working on enforcing logging correctness. Ask her about leveraging your network to find interesting internships and opportunities, long-term career goals as well as the best cities to work in! 

Rolina Wu (Software Engineer)

Network Software Engineer at Meta during daytime, plant lady/artist at night. I am from the WAN Control team(WAN for Wide-Area Network). I focus on building scalable software and improving reliability gaps for Meta's Network. 

Are you gearing up for technical interviews? Whether you’re interested in Software Engineering internships or full-time SWE roles, you may want to practice your technical interview skills. Join Googlers to practice mock questions and learn some tips & tricks to ace your interviews!

Presented by Sue Harnett from Rewriting the Code. 

Have you ever experienced feelings of self-doubt in the face of success and achievement throughout your academia and work? These feelings are extremely common, especially for women in tech. Join us for an empowering workshop designed to provide you with the knowledge, tools and strategies to combat imposter syndrome and how to self-advocate for yourself to thrive authentically in your personal and professional pursuits. 

Zynga’s session will be about nailing your resume formatting, interview prep, mastering your personal brand & career pathways into gaming.

Speakers

Jane Lalonde (Manager - Early Careers)

Jane Lalonde supports all aspects of strategy, talent attraction, program management and student experience in the early careers space. Jane has worked with early talent for 12 years, starting in the accounting and finance field before shifting over to mobile gaming by joining Zynga in 2022. She's passionate about supporting students on their early career endeavours, and being a part of shaping the future of the industry. 

On a personal note, Jane enjoys spending time with her two pets, cooking, spending time outdoors gardening and is an avid traveler. 

Swedha Shinde (Corporate Talent Partner)

With a passion for mobile gaming, Swedha is a dedicated recruiter specializing in connecting top talent with innovative opportunities in the mobile gaming sector. Armed with over 6+ years of experience in talent acquisition, she possess a deep understanding of the unique demands and trends shaping the mobile gaming landscape. 

Titanic was a famous passenger ship that tragically sunk on its maiden voyage, and the majority of the passengers died. If you have a data set containing the passenger information, can you build a model to predict what factors led to a passenger surviving or not surviving?

In this workshop, we will guide you through a series of tasks to explore the Titanic data set. Our ultimate goal is to build a machine learning model to correctly predict the survival of each passenger in the data set. By the end of this workshop, you will learn a little bit of Python, a little bit of data science, and a little bit of machine learning. But, more importantly, you will be ready to embark on a journey to learn more about machine learning and data science by yourself. 

**BEFORE WiCS Con starts:  There is some homework to prepare for this workshop in advance.

1. Sign on to Kaggle (using a laptop or tablet with keyboard)
2. Access the Titanic Tutorial online (https://www.kaggle.com/alexisbcook/titanic-tutorial), complete parts 1 and 2 of the titanic tutorial on your own. After this, your coding environment is ready for the workshop!
3. Bring your laptop/tablet to the workshop! 

Join us for an engaging panel hosted by Talent Acquisition at OpenText, where we will unlock the keys to successful networking, mastering LinkedIn, and navigating salary negotiations. Whether you’re a student, recent graduate, or young professional, this event will offer invaluable insights into building your career toolkit. Expand your professional horizons and take charge of your career journey with OpenText!

Speakers

Manjot Sidhu (Talent Acquisition Coordinator)

Manjot Sidhu began her career journey at OpenText as a Talent Acquisition Intern while pursuing her Human Resources Certificate. Today, Manjot has around 3 years of experience in recruitment and has been continuing to support the Talent Acquisition team at OpenText, primarily working on early careers and talent branding.    

Deb James (Senior Manager, Global Talent Branding)

Deborah is a seasoned Talent Acquisition Leader with over 12 years of extensive experience in the tech industry. Currently serving as the Senior Manager, Global Talent Branding at OpenText, she oversees a spectrum of Talent Acquisition programs, including the Canadian Co-op/Intern program. Deb excels in crafting and executing effective, multi-channel hiring strategies and cultivating a compelling employer brand. 

Caetie Anticknap (Director, Talent Acquisition)

Caetie Anticknap is a seasoned Talent Acquisition professional with over two decades of experience in the recruitment industry. Currently serving as the Director of Talent Acquisition at OpenText in Waterloo, Ontario, Caetie is responsible for driving strategic recruitment initiatives to attract and retain top talent.  

Gaurav Sehgal (Lead Talent Acquisition Advisor)

Gaurav Sehgal is currently working at OpenText, serving as a strategic partner in Talent Acquisition for the internal information technology business unit. He is an experienced delivery lead with a demonstrated history of 15+ years, working in the information technology and services industry. He has 8+ years of experience in contributing to organizational growth through hiring for high performing technical teams.   

Niloy Mollah (Lead Talent Acquisition Advisor)

Niloy Mollah is currently a Lead Talent Acquisition Advisor at OpenText, recruiting for Tech Sales Talent in North America. He has completed his Masters in Human Resources from the University of Toronto, and has 8 years of recruitment experience in various fields, such as Finance, Accounting, Operations, Healthcare, and Sales. Outside of work, he’s a tennis addict, cat dad of 2, and a family man at heart. 

Interested in what a security attack looks like? Netsim is a simulator game walks you through the basics of how computers communicate with each other, with an emphasis on security. You will learn how to perform attacks that real hackers use and see how they work in our simulator! 

Through the use of a network simulator game (CS4G Netsim) this workshop introduces participants to foundations of computer networks and their security. Participants will be able to perform realistic network attacks within the confines of the game that correspond to real network attacks. We will conclude with examples of the implications of the attacks demonstrated and potential defenses that are used to protect computer networks. 

**BEFORE WiCS Con starts:  Please bring a laptop or tablet that has an installed internet browser (e.g., Google Chrome) to the workshop! 

Join us for an inspiring session as Dazana Hasan shares her career journey—from university to her current role at Avanade. As an engineer who transitioned from industrial engineering to data engineering, Dazana has witnessed firsthand how AI is reshaping our world. Discover how AI integrates seamlessly into my work at Avanade, enhancing our solutions and driving innovation. But it's not just about business; it's about education too. Explore how AI can empower students, encouraging lifelong learning and skill-building.  

Remember this: AI isn't your replacement; it's your co-pilot. Embrace it, and together, we'll thrive in this AI-powered era. Whether you're a civil engineer, a software developer, or a quantum enthusiast, AI is your ally. 

Speaker

Dazana Hasan (Senior Data Engineer)

Dazana Hasan graduated from McMaster University with a Bachelor of Technology. She is an accomplished Senior Data Engineer at Avanade, where she has excelled in the cloud engineering workspace for several years. Dazana’s passion for technology and her commitment to excellence have made her a valuable asset to her team. Beyond work, she channels her creativity through painting and enjoys water activities during the summer, such as paddleboarding and exploring beaches around the world. 

The conference will close with a stellar panel of women who hold technical roles at the various companies that are participating in WiCS Con 2024. What is the most unexpected obstacle they’ve had to face? What is a good thing to be afraid of? Come and hear their answers to these questions and ask questions of your own!

Speakers

Joanne McKinley, Director of Software Development (Google)  

Joanne is a Director of Software Development at Google. She co-founded the Google Waterloo office in 2005 as one of the first developers of mobile Gmail. For years, Joanne led the delivery of mobile Gmail across multiple generations of mobile platforms, co-authoring over a dozen software patents. Today she runs 3P developer platform and ecosystem for all of Workspace and co-leads the Google Waterloo office. Joanne is passionate about championing and developing female leaders in technology. A role model for work-life balance, she has earned multiple promotions while working 32-hour weeks. 

Joanne holds a BMath (2000) and MMath (2002) in Computer Science from the University of Waterloo. She is mother to 3 school-aged children, enjoys running, and plays in three flute ensembles. 

Luchen Tan, Machine Learning Engineer Manager (Zynga)

 Luchen Tan is a Machine Learning Engineer Manager at Zynga, leading one of the Zynga Analytic Engineering teams focusing on ML system building and MLOps. She was graduated from University of Waterloo Computer Science with a PhD degree in 2017, continued as a Postdoctoral Fellow for a year. Luchen has a diverse career journey that began in academia, transitioned through startup R&D teams, and flourished in leading roles within the machine learning industry. Before joining Zynga, she held leadership positions in ML teams at companies including Twitter, Huawei and RSVP.ai. Committed to fostering talent, Luchen is deeply passionate about guiding university computer science students, particularly females, to discover their true calling within academia or the industry. 

Erika Lal, Software Engineer (Meta)

Hi, I’m Erika (she/her) and I’m excited to be at WiCS con! I’m originally from the Toronto area and graduated from the University of Waterloo Computer Science program in 2022. I currently work at Meta in New York City on machine learning infrastructure. My previous internship experience was in databases, natural language processing, and machine learning optimizations. In my free time I love singing, dancing, playing video games, and watching hockey.