After a successful workshop at the University of Stuttgart 2022, Women* in Computing was ready for another round at the University of Konstanz. The Women* in Computing workshop took place on June 22, 2023 and was visited by around 25 young researchers (no, not only women!) from the field of computing, who spent the day discussing experiences, opportunities, and obstacles in a female tech career.
Tiare Feuchtner (C07) welcomed the participants on behalf of the organization team that consisted of herself, Agnes Grünerbl and Passant Elagroudy from the DFKI (German Centre for Artificial Intelligence), Sita Vriend (A01, University of Stuttgart), Fiona Draxler (C06, LMU Munich), and Sabrina Jaeger-Honz (D04).
Andrea Volkamer from Saarland University started with the first talk ‘From Data to Discoveries: Advancing Drug Design, Embracing Open Science, and Building Your Academic Career’.
The second speaker was Miriam Butt (D02) shared her perspectives and experiences from computing in South Asia.
Afterwards, we had Sarah Theres Völkel, who is a user experience researcher at Google. She discussed how to get your CV ready for a transition from academia to industry.
Our fourth speaker was Enxhi Gjini from Takeda Pharmaceutical. In her talk, she gave the workshop participants some insight into implementing digital solutions in Pharma Manufacturing.
Andrea Šipka from the Data Science and its Applications research group at the DFKI posed the question “What on earth is a scientific manager?” In her talk she discussed perspectives of doing research the industrial way.
The last inspiring talk of the day on careers beyond the PhD was given by Passant Elagroudy from DFKI. She shared some ideas on exploring postdoc pathways, giving back, and exploring the world in computing.
Once again, the workshop provided an excellent opportunity for networking as well as a safe space for multifaceted discussions of career and family struggles. In a relaxed and collegial atmosphere, the participants were able to connect to each other and to reflect on their own (future) career paths.
The Women* in Computing Workshop was supported by the SFB-TRR 161 and Humane AI Net, the European network of Human-Centered artificial intelligence.
A third iteration of the Women* in Computing Workshop is planned for 2024 at the LMU in Munich.
