ACM-W Europe February 2024 Newsletter

 

In this issue:

 

Local ACM-W Celebration – ACM-W UPV Chapter, Valencia

 

In February we had a local celebration hosted by the ACM-W UPV of Polytechnic University of Valencia (Spain). The organisers sent us a few details about the event which was a success enjoyed by all the participants.

“The event started with an engaging Artificial Intelligence workshop tailored specifically for high school students. The primary objective was to simulate an escape scenario from a zombie-infested hotel. Participants were tasked with selecting sensors and gathering data to train an AI model to avoid the zombies.

Following this, Silvia Terrasa, the Computer Science faculty director, set the stage for insightful talks by Data Scientist Clara Martí and Project Manager Esther Miñana. They emphasised community building for collaboration and shared their own experiences in Inditex, including involvement in a Women In Tech community. Next, Ana Oropesa, a Big Data Engineer at HP, drew parallels between the journey of the university student and superhero narratives. She highlighted the cyclical nature of personal growth and development, emphasising the importance of facing challenges, finding mentors, and expanding comfort zones. After a delicious lunch courtesy of HP and some networking, Google Expert Carmen Ansio led a fun session on learning CSS through drawing, using examples like crafting Mickey Mouse using HTML and CSS. 

A quiz on women in science showcased participants’ knowledge, followed by gift giveaways courtesy of Stadler and a lively roundtable discussion on innovation, diversity, and embracing new technologies.”

Looking forward to seeing more local events organised by the ACM-W Student Chapters.

 

28th Ada-Europe International Conference on Reliable Software Technologies (AEiC2024)

11-14 June, 2024 Barcelona, Spain

The 28th Ada-Europe International Conference on Reliable Software Technologies (AEiC 2024 aka Ada-Europe 2024) will take place in Barcelona, Spain. The conference schedule comprises a journal track, an industrial track, a work-in-progress track, a vendor exhibition, parallel tutorials, and satellite workshops.

The conference is a leading international forum for providers, practitioners, and researchers in reliable software technologies. The conference presentations will illustrate current work in the theory and practice of the design, development, and maintenance of long-lived, high-quality software systems for a challenging variety of application domains. The program will allow ample time for keynotes, Q&A sessions and discussions, and social events. Participants include practitioners and researchers from industry, academia, and government organisations active in the promotion and development of reliable software technologies.

Find more details here.

Submission deadline for industrial track papers, work-in-progress papers (extended) 4 March 2024
Conference Dates 11-14 June 2024

 

 

Call for Nominations: ACM-W Rising Star Award 2024

We are delighted to announce the opening of nominations for the ACM-W Rising Star Award 2024! This prestigious award honours the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary individuals in computing who have made significant impacts early in their careers. 

About the Award:

The ACM-W Rising Star Award recognizes exceptional women or non-binary individuals in computing whose early career research has left a lasting mark on the discipline. The recipient will receive a framed certificate and a $1,000 stipend and will be celebrated annually for their remarkable achievements. Special thanks to Andrea Goldsmith for her generous donation, which established this award.

Important Dates:

  • Nominations Open: January 15th, 2024
  • Nominations Close: March 31st, 2024
  • Award Recipient Announced: May 31st, 2024

Find out all the details here.

 

 

womENcourage™ – Celebration of Women in Computing

Responsible Computing for Gender Equality Madrid, Spain, June 26-28, 2024 

The 11th ACM Celebration of Women in Computing: womENcourage™ 2024, will be hosted at Escuela Politécnica Superior of Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Open to all genders, this event is aimed at celebrating the role and impact of women in computing, and supporting participants at different stages in their STEM careers by offering an international, multisectoral, and multidisciplinary forum to share experience and knowledge, get constructive feedback, and promote meaningful networking.

The theme, Responsible Computing for Gender Equality, highlights the gender gap on computing and puts the stress on  the utilitarian nature of computing, as a tool to augment human capabilities and contribute to the progress of society.

Check out the website for updates on the event.

Scholarship application deadline 1 April 2024
Early Registration 2 April 2024 – 31 May 2024

 

Apply for a Participation Scholarship

Thanks to our generous supporters, local and international alike, you can receive a participation scholarship to join the event. The purpose of our Participation Scholarship is to encourage women in the field of computing.

This scholarship award is a note of appreciation for your participation in ACM WomENcourage 2024, whose deadlines are available on the Call to Take Part page. The Participation Scholarship covers a free womENcourage registration, as well as a grant amount which will depend on your country’s distance to the venue.

The scholarships will be awarded to students and non-students who actively participate in the conference with posters, workshops, tutorials, and/or by volunteering. Moreover, some scholarships will be awarded to the first-year students who have an exceptional interest, taking into account that they may not be able yet to contribute fully but are willing to volunteer.

More information about the application process can be found here.

 

Blog Series

Each year we meet incredible people at womENcourage™ celebrations. We ask womENcourage participants to tell their stories in blog posts. This month let’s hear from Johanne Thunes and Stine Fjeldsrud Karlsen who attended womENcourage in 2023 in Trondheim, Norway. 

Telling our stories by Johanne Thunes

Johanne Thunes is a PhD student in Information systems at the University of Oslo. Her research focuses on digitalization in the public sector.

In this blogpost she writes about her experience at the Hackathon.

“Are you interested in using technology to solve problems in the world around you? Then the hackathon  is the thing for you!”

Read the entire article on our blog.

 

Telling our stories by Stine Fjeldsrud Karlsen

Stine Fjeldsrud Karlsen, who is currently finishing her master’s program in Computer Science. She attended womENcourage 2023 in Trondheim and initially pursued fashion. When she started working she realised that working with the IT systems was what she liked most about her job. Therefore, she went back to university and studied Computer Science.

She is an inspiration on how it is never too late to change your career path and to join the STEM community.

Read the entire article on our blog.

 

 

Announcements and News

Open Academic Positions

 

The Walter Benjamin Programme enables researchers in the postdoctoral training phase to independently conduct their own research project at a location of their choice. The project can be carried out at a research institution in Germany or abroad, with the host institution providing support for the project.

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) is now expanding its existing funding measures for academics who have fled their home country by opening up the Walter Benjamin Programme with the aim of enabling this target group to become integrated into the German research system. In the current situation, this practical support measure for refugee researchers from all regions of the world is also an expression of solidarity with researchers from Ukraine as well as persecuted researchers from Russia. 

Deadlines: Proposals may be submitted at any time.

 

ACM Awards and Advanced Grades of Membership Deadlines

Each year ACM recognizes outstanding achievements of its members through awards that cover a spectrum of professional and technological areas and different stages of professional development. 

To learn more about awards, we recommend the article by the ACM President Cherri M. Pancake, who dispels some common myths about ACM Awards and Honors in the Communications of the ACM, August 2019. One of the myths is that the ACM Awards never honour people working outside North America. Prof. Pancake writes that even though nothing would make ACM committees happier than to recognise the achievements of people from around the globe, there are very few nominations. Source: Dispelling Common Myths About ACM Awards and Honors.

Call for ACM Senior Member Nominations

The Senior Member advanced grade of membership recognizes ACM members with at least 10 years of professional experience and 5 years of continuous ACM Professional membership. Nominations are accepted on a quarterly basis. The next deadline for nominations is September 3, 2023.

Students
Early Career
Mid Career
Late Career
Area-Specific, typically Mid to Late Career

For SIG-specific Awards, please visit here.

For ACM Advanced Grades of Membership, please visit here.

 

Thank you for joining us in recognizing the accomplishments of ACM Women in Europe and ensuring they are nominated for ACM Awards they deserve.

 

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