Introducing our 2008 Anita Borg Scholars

On Friday we hosted our annual Anita Borg Scholars' Retreat at our Engineering Centre in Sydney as a way for women to come together and share their experiences as leaders in the field of computer science.

The Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship started in the United States in 2003 in association with the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology to honour the legacy of Anita Borg and her efforts to encourage women to pursue careers in computer science and technology. Australia became the first country outside of the US to launch the scholarship in 2006, and in 2007 we extended the opportunity to students studying in New Zealand.

 

This year we received applications from women at 28 universities throughout Australia and New Zealand, and we're pleased to announce Andrea Schweer, from the University of Waikato and Janina Voigt, from the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, as the recipients of $5,000 scholarships for the 2009 academic year.

A big congratulations as well to the twelve 2008 finalists, each of whom will be awarded $1,000:

• Gretel Png (University of Adelaide)
  
• Heather Macbeth (University of Auckland)
  
• Iris Yan (Monash University)
  
• Jenine Beekhuyzen (Griffith University)
  
• Magdalena Stremeski (Swinburne University of Technology)
  
• Miriam Hochwald (University of Queensland
  
• Olena Medelyan (University of Waikato)
  
• Sally Hodson (University of Western Australia)
  
• Sarah Killey (Queensland University of Technology)
  
• Shaoqun Wu (University of Waikato)
  
• Sue Lynn Choy (RMIT University)
  
• Tamara Beames (University of South Australia)

The scholarship recipients and finalists enjoyed their retreat, which included tech talks, workshops, career panels and social activities and provided an opportunity to network with other women in technology-related fields.

One of the scholarship winners, Janina Voigt, told me, "It's been a great experience to meet people with similar views of issues we all face as women in this industry - we're all girls going through the same thing right now. It has also been great to share ideas and participate in the workshops." 

The scholars are studying a wide variety of disciplines and talked openly about their projects, inspiring and learning from each other.

Shaoqun Wu shared how she's creating a system to assist with second language learning.  Having moved to New Zealand from China seven years ago, she understands what it's like to learn a second language first-hand.  Her project has been funded by the New Zealand government, and she hopes to continue developing her career around this area.  During the retreat, she emphasised how important it is that women in IT connect and help one another.  

We also discussed how to encourage other women to enter the field of engineering and computer science.  Sue Lynn Choy, a Ph.D. student in surveying, geomatics and cartography, told me "Studying computer science or other IT-related fields can be a big stepping stone to other things.  The possibilities are only limited by your imagination."

Posted by Will Blott, University Programs, Australia & New Zealand