Programs & Events | Women in Computer Science

CS runs a number of programs and events for undergraduates and graduate students that aim to raise awareness, enhance skills, and promote mentoring and community building. Events are often run in partnership with our WiCS Sponsors or with the WiCS undergraduate committee. Below are events that we run annually.

FALL		WINTER		SPRING
September	WiCS Orientation	January	Resume Critique	May	WiCS Con
September	Resume Critique	January/February	Mock Interviews	May	Resume Critique
September/October	Mock Interviews	March	Responding to Everyday Biases	May/June	Mock Interviews
September/October	Grace Hopper Celebration	March	Student/Industry Lunch	June	Responding to Everyday Biases
October	Responding to Everyday Biases	April/May	Technovation	June	Diverse Careers in Tech
October/November	CAN-CWIC			July	Math/CS 101 (incoming students)

On top of these, WiCS runs technical workshops, professional-development workshops, developer panels, end-of-term socials. Be sure to stay up-to-date with our WiCS Calendar of Events.

All WiCS events are governed by the WiCS Code of Conduct.

WiCS Orientation

WiCS runs its own Orientation for first-year women who are entering CS, SE, CFM, or the CS/BBA double degree program. This event is

partly an introduction to WiCS (e.g., representation of women in CS at Waterloo, what it is like to be a woman in computing) and
partly networking and community building (e.g., meeting other women in your program and talking with upper years)

At WiCs Orientation, first-year students learn how to improve their university experience, how to help themselves advance in their careers, and how to cultivate a network of friends and allies — people to study with and play with; who can provide advice in good times and in bad; who can refer them to opportunities or to their connections.

As a woman in tech, it is especially important to have a network of technical girlfriends — whose experiences are like one’s own, who have similar interests and goals, and with whom one can vent frustrations and celebrate successes.

Our 2022 Orientation was held in September this year, and it was a great success! You can view the WiCS Orientation page to check out the schedule we had for the event.

Conferences

WiCS Con

WiCS Con is a two-day multi-track conference hosted by WiCS in partnership with our industrial sponsors to offer something unique to our students. The conference sessions cover acing technical interviews, resume tips, unconscious bias, imposter syndrome, negotiating salaries, and lots of technical workshops, drop-in office hours with various companies, and networking.

In 2022, we added in a track for high school students to attend WiCS Con! We will continue to offer this in the 2023 WiCS Con. Each conference session will suggest which of the 2 tracks (high school or undergraduate) the session is primarily aimed at.

WiCS Con 2023 will be a hybrid event. Some sessions will be offered exclusively online, and others will be offered both in-person and online. Being online has its advantages, such as being accessible to attendees who are unable to travel (e.g., being on co-op).

Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing

Each year, we try to fund as many students as possible to attend the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing

The Grace Hopper Celebration is the world's largest conference for technical women that provides access to sessions covering a wide range of subjects and professional development for all career levels.
Leading researchers present their work, while special sessions focus on the role of women in today’s technology fields, including computer science, information technology, research, and engineering.
A special shout out to the Mathematics Endowment Fund, whose generous funding provides 20 percent of the funds needed to send WiCS students to the annual Grace Hopper Celebration.

You can take a look at our Grace Hopper Celebration page to see more information and to read reflections from WiCS students that attended GHC.

CAN-CWIC

Closer to home, we aim for a significant Waterloo presence at the Canadian Celebration of Women in Computing; the generosity of sponsors makes the cost of attending very low.

Mentorship

WiCS Bubbles

Bubbles are groups of first-year WiCS students that are paired with 2 upper-year students who mentor them throughout the term. Bubbles meet regularly to socialize, provide support, advice, and have fun! First-year isn't easy but having a BigCSter mentor could make it a bit better!

Connect with other students! Bubbles are hosted on Slack! Slack is used in professional workplaces to communicate with members of a team, co-workers, and your employers! This is a great opportunity for you to get first-hand experience with Slack and add it to your resume while meeting more peers!

Little WiCS' Big CSters Mentorship

The Big CSters Mentorship Program helps connect women and non-binary students in Computer Science and related fields, through events geared towards mentorship and community building. The events include technical workshops, social gatherings, and discussion circles about common issues that students face.

First year or senior year students can get involved with Big CSters by coming to our events.

Distinguished Lecture Series

WiCS organizes lunches for students, alumni, staff, and faculty to interact with women Distinguished Speakers to discuss their career choices and trajectories, topics related to women in computing, and provide advice to women who are interested in careers in research.

Look for our full listing of past and present speakers.

Early Undergraduate Research Experience Program

Call for Graduate Mentors

We are currently inviting graduate students to serve as mentors in the Early Undergraduate Research Experience (EREP/UR2PHD) Program for Fall 2024. The goal of this program is to help ease undergraduate students with no prior research experience into their first research experience, preparing them to seek out URA opportunities afterwards. The grad mentors are an integral part of the program.

Graduate mentors will take a graduate student mentor training course, led by the Computing Research Association (CRA), which is a virtual, synchronous course that prepares participants to provide culturally-responsive mentorship. The curriculum aims to familiarize students with empirically-proven principles and best practices in mentorship. By the end of the series, participants will be capable of explaining and recognizing techniques for fostering inclusive, positive, and successful mentorship environments. They will also craft their own personal mentoring philosophy. Each graduate mentor will also work with a small group of undergraduate students (2-4 students) to complete a research project in his/her area of research.

Benefits of participating

Acquire formal training in the art of effective research mentoring, a pivotal skill for long-term career success
Learn to design and adapt research projects based on research goals, advisee skills and experiences, and project challenges
Hone essential communication skills and techniques for assessing and promoting student development and growth
Develop and formalize a personalized mentorship philosophy
Establish a supportive peer network with students across various universities

Responsibilities and expectations

Participants in the course must certify understanding and adherence to the following responsibilities and expectations:

Attend and actively participate in the 1-hour per week, virtual, graduate student mentor training course, missing no more than 2 sessions (We expect all participants to have their cameras on during course sessions)
Complete course assignments in a timely fashion
Support mentees with their research project throughout the program
Participate in evaluation efforts, as requested
Attend and actively participate in a 1 hour per week, in-person research meetup

Compensation

Participants who complete the graduate student mentor training program in its entirety will receive a $1,000 stipend. Stipends will be paid directly to participants following the completion of the course and required documentation (i.e., Independent Contractor’s Agreement, W-9 or W-8BEN Forms, and Direct Deposit Form).

To be considered as having “completed” the course, graduate student participants must actively engage in and attend all course sessions, complete all assigned coursework, and have a maximum of two unexcused absences. If a graduate student has more than two unexcused absences, they will not receive the stipend. This criterion ensures an optimal learning experience for all participants and maintains the program’s integrity.

Please note that If you were a grad mentor in Fall 2023, you are welcome to re-apply for Fall 2024. You will not have to retake the grad mentor training course; however, you will not receive the stipend a second time, since the stipend is a one-time stipend.

Applications

To apply:

Talk to your faculty advisor and obtain their approval about your plans to participate in this program. This year, there are no funding obligations from your faculty advisor, and your faculty advisor can choose to be involved as much or as little as they want.
Come up with 3 project ideas related to your own research or your general area of research.
(Optional) Recruit some undergraduate student researchers to work with you, using an inclusive process that encourages applications from women and other gender-marginalized folks. Ask them to apply to the EREP/UR2PhD program. If you did not find any undergraduate students to work with, we will work with you to find a team of undergraduate students that would be appropriate for your research / research area.
Submit your application via this Google Form.

I really enjoy WiCS events! They give me very insightful advice and it's also motivating to see that there are so many career opportunities in CS.

- Undergraduate CS Student