Outreach

 Women@SCS is committed to encouraging, supporting and mentoring others while increasing the visibility and impact of women and minorities in the Computer Sciences. This organization is one of several that lead many outreach activities at the local and national levels.

Outreach Materials

The Roadshow

The School of Computer Science Outreach Roadshow, developed by Women@SCS, introduces children, teachers and parents to the many areas within computer science.

This is a highly interactive presentation by undergrads and grads in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon who talk about why/how they began studying the area, their current experiences, what Computer Science means to them now, and their future hopes and expectations. The middle and high school presentations include a guessing game, a slide show of CS applications, algorithm style puzzles, a robot demo, and much more. The graduate level Roadshow (presented to undergrads) includes general information on going to graduate school and short research talks.

Here you can download a pdf with ideas and guidelines for starting your own Roadshow.
Roadshow Demonstration
*Please acknowledge Women@SCS if you use or adapt our Roadshow.*


"The Exciting World of Computer Science" Poster

Women@SCS created a poster that exposes students to the many different fields within computer science. Feel free to download and display these posters at your school.
High resolution (9.6 MB)
Low resolution (6.9 MB)

Workshops

TechNights (Creative Technology Nights for Girls)

Creative Technology Nights for Girls is a program focused on exposing middle and high school girls to creative technologies. Using computer animation, web design, programming, robotics, and interactive medias, we hope to engage a future generation of women in technology.

Intel/Women@SCS Public Speaking Workshop

Women@SCS Sisters Organizers designed and implemented a Speaking Skills Workshop sponsored by Intel. The workshop was designed for both graduate and undergraduate students and included anecdotes and advice from experience, and a powerpoint Karaoke in which every participant had to speak.

Intel/Women@SCS Interviewing Skills Workshop

Women@SCS Sisters Organizers designed and implemented an Interviewing Skills Workshop sponsored by Intel. The workshop was designed for both graduate and undergraduate students and included advice from experience, speed interviewing in pairs, negotiating practice and role playing.

Take Your Child to Work Day

Every year on the fourth Thursday of April, Women@SCS runs programs that celebrate "Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day". At this event, children of Carnegie Mellon's staff and faculty take part in the Roadshow or a hands on robot building session.

Google/Women@SCS Girl Scouts Day

In 2008, Women@SCS will take part in a technology day for Girl Scouts that is cohosted by Google. Women@SCS will run a Human Computation Session and take the girl scouts on a tour of the Robotics Institute.

Expanding Your Horizons

Women@SCS run workshops entitled "Is There a Robot in your Future?" at the Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) conference in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2007. This is a nationally held event aimed at increasing the participation of girls and women in mathematics and science. Our robotics workshops have proved to be a very successful part of EYH in Pittsburgh gaining high acclaim from participants.

Girls, Technology and Education

In 2001 Women@SCS presented a Forum on girls and technology in education and entertainment. The event successfully brought together more than 160 teachers, academics, students, and members of the business community for a full afternoon of talks and brainstorming. Together, the group that was present discussed topics ranging from girl-friendly classroom strategies, to software game development and beyond. One of our featured speakers, Megan Gaiser, is President and Executive Producer of Her Interactive, home of Nancy Drew interactive games. The company designs, develops, and markets award-winning interactive games for girls ages 10 and up. It leads the industry in creating computer games that expand a girl's choices, computer skills, and mind.

Mentoring Programs

Sisters Mentoring Programs

There are a number of mentoring programs available for women in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. The Undergraduate Sisters Program matches first year students with sophomore, junior, and senior undergrads. The Grad/Undergrad Sisters Program matches junior and senior undergraduate students with graduate students in SCS. The Graduate Tea Hours allow graduate students to connect in an informal setting.

Conferences

OurCS: Opportunities for Undergraduate Research in Computer Science

Carnegie Mellon's OurCS Conference is research focused and provides opportunities for undergraduate women to work on exploratory problems in teams led by researchers from industry and academia.

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Women@SCS presents the Women@SCS Roadshow in the family science days. Family science days provide kid-friendly learning opportunities in science and technology. We have posted some great pictures of the presentation in our AAAS Photo Section.

Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing

Women@SCS presented at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008. This is a series of conferences designed to bring the research and career interests of women in computing to the forefront. Presenters are leaders in their respective fields, representing industrial, academic and government communities. Leading researchers present their current work, while special sessions focus on the role of women in today's technology fields.

Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing

The Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing, held in honor of Dr. Richard A. Tapia, highlights creative, innovative, and original research and applications of computing for under-represented groups. Women@SCS members attended the conference in 2003 and 2005.