Dear all

 

For anyone interested in how computer science will equip young people, especially young women, to shape their future, please attend this inspirational event at Imperial College, London on 23 June.  To register, the Eventbrite link is here. All teenagers, parents and teachers are particularly encouraged to attend.

 

Hosted by Maja Pantic, Professor of Affective and Behavioural Computing at Imperial and chaired by Saadia Zahidi, Head of Education, Gender and Work of World Economic Forum, the event will involve 5 inspirational women computer scientists to encourage and inspire our future leaders and pioneers in this area:

·        Dame Wendy Tan, General Partner, Entrepreneur First, Co-Founder and CEO, Moonfruit,  Board Trustee Alan Turing Institute

·        Dr Sharon Goldwater, University of Edinburgh School of Informatics, BCS Roger Needham Award 2016  

·        Dr Sabine Hauert, Lecturer in Robotics, University of Bristol, President & Co-founder, Robohub

·        Dr Holly Cummins, IBM Bluemix Garage London, Technical Lead

·        Maxine Mackintosh, Data science/Dementia PhD Student at UCL & Founder of One HealthTech

 
The event will engage the audience in a stimulating public debate and inspire young women to take charge of their destiny, openly discussing the importance of computer science for our digital future, why computer science can empower women, and how we can encourage more young women to become professionals in his exciting new area.

 

For background, we are currently witnessing the 'Fourth Industrial Revolution' that is fundamentally changing the way we live, work, and relate to one another. We already have billions of people connected by mobile phones and the Internet, giving rise to unprecedented connectivity, knowledge and data processing power. This revolution is already transforming societies and the global economy with disruptions like Facebook and Airbnb already here and more to come soon with breakthroughs in Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, Internet of Things (IoT), autonomous vehicles, and quantum computing.

Studying computer science can empower young people, making them both the creators and great beneficiaries of the future, but it is a stark reality that the UK currently has the lowest percentage of female computer engineering professionals in Europe. This is deeply concerning, as this new technology could have a disproportionately greater negative impact on women concerning jobs in particular. Attention is needed urgently, now.

Taking place on International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) on the 23 June, Women in Computer Science will address how knowledge of computing plays a major role in our future, how studying computing may empower young people, and how the pressing issues the gender gap presents to society needs to be tackled.

 

This event is open to everyone but please note that teenagers under the age of 16 need to be accompanied by an adult.

 

Please contact me with any questions on [log in to unmask]

Look forward to seeing you there.

Kind regards

Tina