ACM-W Europe March 2022 Newsletter

 

In this issue:

 

Chair’s Corner

I have spent many months thinking about how we, the ACM-W Europe, can support our members better. This brings about the question of who our members are. Do we define our membership based on skill, age or nationality? If I ask you what makes you a Developer for example, what do you think of? Imagine you are creating a character from a children’s set of building blocks. It is now blank; you must design it. How would you design something that represents you best? We are more than just where we are from or what our skin colour is. We are unique and yet share a common goal as part of a network of like-minded people. We have the ability to support, celebrate, and advocate for each other as part of that network. We have a team of people we can rely on for help. The ACM-W Europe is now 10 years old. Our founder and first chair, Reyyan Ayfer, built the network because she could see the power of supporting each other. This goal has remained unchanged in the ten years since the network was created. So what can each one of us do? It is often the little things that count. Can you put people in contact with each other to find a job? Can you help a student find a grant? Can you talk to someone who needs a person to listen to them? We can help you reach out with volunteer opportunities that can make a real difference. Let’s continue to work together in ACM-W Europe to empower each other,  exchange information and develop professional contacts for the better. A positive change in the world begins with each one of us.

 

ACM-W Europe 10-year Anniversary

This May we celebrate the 10th Anniversary of ACM-W Europe. This journey has been one of growth and friendship as we build our member network. We have many events planned to celebrate our anniversary including a gala later in the year. However, it is fitting that the celebration focuses on our valued members. It is our members that have volunteered to support each other, network together to promote women in all aspects of the computing field. We will continue to thank our members throughout the year but we will begin one of our ACM-W Chapter leaders, Oleksandra Yeremenko and a member of the ACM-W Europe womENcourage Steering Committee, Taras V. Panchenko. 

Oleksandra Yeremenko – ACM-W Chapter

When did you join ACM-W Europe?
I have been a member of the ACM-W Europe for two years. I want to note that I got into ACM-W Europe literally from the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic. Indeed, it was a significant help during isolation. It helped erase certain boundaries, overcome seclusion, change the work style, and direct it towards active creation. I have made many wonderful friends. This experience and role models’ success stories of beautiful women and genuine professionals in their field inspired me to reach new professional altitudes.

Why did you join ACM-W Europe?
I joined ACM-W Europe because I also desired to help women in technical fields. The ICT labor market may be different in Europe and Ukraine, but there are certain common features and stereotypes that we merely must fight against. The labor market needs high-class specialists, which are often women. I saw that I could also contribute. Now my membership in ACM-W Europe plays a significant role.

How have you worked with ACM-W Europe?
In 2020, I organized Kharkiv Information & Communication Technologies ACM-W Chapter (Kharkiv ICT ACM-W Chapter). As recent events have shown, computing and information and communication technologies are exactly what can protect and help to survive, which is the basis of the modern digital world and socio-communicative processes.

How are you associated with ACM-W Europe?
I participated in womENcourage three times. I am deeply grateful to the organizers for the wonderful event every year and the most interesting people who come together to share their professional experience, scientific results, and practical cases of solving humanity’s most critical problems without exaggeration. A womENcourage hackathon is an exciting event that allows young professionals to prove themselves.

As part of the Kharkiv ICT ACM-W Chapter, we also organize events at the local level. For example, we organized online conferences involving ICT labor market specialists to help with employment during a pandemic. Last year, representatives of the chapter organized the celebration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science at the regional level.

 Taras V. Panchenko – ACM-W Europe Working Group Member

When did you join ACM-W Europe?
My active participation in ACM started in 2016 when I headed the ACM Ukrainian Chapter. We organized many events for Ukrainian girls like local Celebrations of Women in Computing, Hour of Code, Europe Code Week. It is all about teamwork – all our events were organized by volunteers who helped to implement every idea: Ivan Panchenko, Natalie Lytvyniuk, Mykola Smilenko and many others.

How has ACM-W Europe impacted you?
Attending of womENcourage, a flagship event of ACM-W Europe is a definitely worthwhile experience. As an attendee you will undoubtedly get high inspiration to develop yourself in computing – not just because of key speakers and carefully prepared content delivered through workshops and other activities, but primarily through networking with like-minded people, who encourage you the most!

What types of events have you run?
One kind of event which we propagate and deliver the most are hackathons. We are sure, that hackathons help to upgrade participants’ skills the most, and we are really passionate about them. It requires teamwork skills to be organized in an effective way in a limited time to achieve the maximum result.

How do you feel ACM-W Europe has helped you?
I joined the ACM-W Europe committee with pleasure because now I help to organize hackathons worldwide and share accumulated experience with others. As a teacher at heart, I like to share my knowledge and volunteer this way to make our world a better place, with more equality, fewer problems, and better possibilities. The knowledge and the skills are the keys to our better future, and I am happy that I can help more people to open their minds, to spread their abilities, to empower them and shift the boundaries, overcome fear and become better without restrictive stereotypes. I am really proud to be a part of ACM-W Europe.

Meet ACM Fellow – Paola Inverardi

In the early days of 2022, ACM has recognised 71 computer scientists as Fellows.  The ACM Fellows program recognises the top 1% of ACM members for their outstanding accomplishments in computing and information technology or outstanding service to ACM and the larger computing community. Fellows are nominated by their peers, with nominations reviewed by a distinguished selection committee.

3 European women are on the list for their contributions this year!

  1. Judith Gal-Ezer – research and implementation in CS education 
  2. Paola Inverardi – software architecture 
  3. Pierangela Samarati –  data security and privacy

We are featuring Prof. Paola Inverardi on our blog this month. Paola Inverardi is a professor at the Department of Information Engineering Computer Science and Mathematics at the University of L’Aquila. Professor  Inverardi is also an IFIP fellow. She is the recipient of the IEEE TCSE Distinguished Service Award for outstanding and sustained contributions to the software engineering community. 

“Interestingly, at the time of my studies in Computer Science, there was a large percentage of women that eventually turned dramatically down. Concerning my career, I believe not only mine, but the women of my generation in academia have also taken the advantage of working in a new growing context that did not have the rigidities and gender bias of more established sciences.”

To turn things around again, Professor Inverardi during her rectorate has promoted many actions concerning diversity. Among the many: the University of L’Aquila has been among the first Universities in Italy to present a Gender Budget, which is a document, aimed both to analyse and to evaluate policies and financial commitments of Administrative Institutions, from a gender perspective. Heartfelt congratulations to Professor Inverardi for her contributions to software architecture, and for being an inspiring role model to young women considering a career in computer science. 

Read more on our blog.

 

womENcourage 2022, in Larnaka, Cyprus

In 2022, womENcourageTM invites the Arts to join our celebration! The theme of this year’s celebration is  “Drawing New Lines in Science”. This year’s ACM womENcourage 2022 recognises that both the Arts and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) share a focus on creative thinking, problem-solving and experiential, immersive learning. We are celebrating ways in which the Arts relate to STEM, often referred to as STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics). The venue for womENcourage 2022 will be the campus of the University of Central Lancashire, Cyprus (UCLan Cyprus). Find out more and take a virtual tour of the campus here.

 

Event Dates: 21-23 September 2022
Extended Abstracts (and optionally posters) due: 2 May 2022
Detailed Proposals due: 2 May 2022
Scholarship applications due: 9 May 2022
Registration Open: 30 May 2022
Hackathon Registration: 27 June – 2 September 2022

 

Blog – Telling Our Stories: My Career Journey By Erona Aliu

As we #breakthebias on the International Women’s Day, on March 8, and every day, what better way than to find inspiration from our community. Each year we meet incredible women at womENcourage™. This month we have Erona Aliu,  whose passion for space led her to study Computer Science.

“I have been inspired by science and drawn to its wonders from a young age. When I was eight years old, we visited the Kennedy Space Station. From the moment I stepped into the building, I was enthralled.”

“I was a first-year computer science student on the cusp of failing her programming modules, and I went on to succeeding a coding interview with one of the most prestigious companies in the world. If I can do it, you can. You just really have to want it. Now, I am a final year computer science student with a return offer from Amazon as a graduate software engineer, ready to delve into the world of computer science and eventually find a way to combine it with my love for the space industry. I am on track to becoming the woman my 8-year-old self would have looked up to and dreamt of becoming.”

Read Erona’s inspiring journey on our blog.

 

ACM-W Europe Social Media Highlights

Not on social media? Not a problem. In February 2022, our most popular post on Facebook was about blog announcements – by ACM Fellow Pierangela Samarati and Blog – Telling Our Stories: My First Hackathon by Lena Stempfle. 

Our top tweet on Twitter was about the ACM Senior Member applications, and again the Telling our stories blog post.

Like our ACM-WE Facebook page, follow us on Twitter (@acmweurope) or Linkedin to get the updates.

 

Announcements and News

Celebrating Technology Leaders – Mental Health, Wellbeing, and Self-Care: A Candid Discussion with Women Technologists

Whether it is the stress and responsibilities of ordinary life, job-related pressures, or pandemic created conditions, numerous stressors challenge our mental wellbeing. In this episode of “ACM-W Celebrating Technology Leaders,”, leading women technologists open up on the issue of mental health and wellbeing. They share stories of personal struggles, growth, and resilience and provide strategies for managing such challenges. The panel also explore the topic of self-care, small steps you can take yourself, and when you may need professional help.

For more information, visit the website.

Open PhD and Post-doc Positions

  • Post-Doc/PhD in Computer Science of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway

The department of Computer Science of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology we have a vacancy for a:

  1. Postdoctoral Fellow for a period of employment of 2 years (without teaching duties)) and
  2. PhD Candidate.

The positions will be supervised by professor Letizia Jaccheri.

The policy and action plan on gender equality and diversity at NTNU are closely linked with NTNU’s mission and vision of “Knowledge for a better world”. Knowledge for a better world is best created in an organization with equal opportunity, diversity and gender balance. Promoting equality and tolerance regardless of philosophy of life, culture or gender is also a prerequisite for NTNU’s values – creative, critical, constructive and respectful. Consideration and respect must characterize the interaction between staff and students.

Deadline: 01 April 2022

 

  • Postdoctoral Positions in Natural Language Processing Catholic University of Leuven Department of Computer Science, Belgium

The Department of Computer Science of KU Leuven, Belgium offers several positions for a postdoctoral fellow in the domain of natural language processing. The postdoctoral fellow will perform his or her research at the Language Intelligence and Information Retrieval lab (https://liir.cs.kuleuven.be), which is directed by Prof. Marie-Francine Moens and which is a member of the KU Leuven AI Institute (https://ai.kuleuven.be) and the KU Leuven ELLIS Unit.

KU Leuven seeks to foster an environment where all talents can flourish, regardless of gender, age, cultural background, nationality or impairments.

Deadline: 15 April 2022

Application information

 

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.

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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