This annual event, also known as “the Tapia Conference,” is the premier venue to acknowledge, promote, and celebrate diversity in computing. The goal is to bring together undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, researchers, and professionals in computing from all backgrounds and ethnicities to:
- celebrate the diversity that exists in computing
- connect with others to create communities that extend beyond the conference;
- make contact with leaders in industry and academia; and
- be inspired by great presentations and conversations!
This year, several members of NCWIT’s staff will be attending, including:
Christopher Lynnly Hovey, Research Scientist with the NCWIT Higher Ed team
Wendy DuBow, Senior Research Scientist and NCWIT Director of Strategies for Education Research & Evaluation
Register online and follow NCWIT on Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter for updates, highlights, and reminders throughout the event. Bookmark this event page for detailed information on how to connect with #NCWITontheroad on site. All times listed reflect the local time zone, Pacific Time.
Find #NCWITontheroad
Workshop | Thursday, September 19th | 11 am – 12:15 pm PT | Pacific A
Join in as representatives from the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC) Alliances and other organizations share effective programs for increasing diversity in computing. To start, presenters will spotlight one effective program, and then, attendees will have an opportunity to break up into nine groups. Each group will have an opportunity to learn more details and bring the information back to their home institutions to begin implementation or establish partnerships. Participants will have an opportunity to learn about three programs from the following presenters:
- Valerie Taylor, CEO and President of the Center for Minorities and People with Disabilities in IT (CMD-IT) – an NCWIT Affinity Alliance member organization
- Jamika Burge, co-founder of blackcomputeHER.org
- Jamie Peyton, professor at Temple University – an NCWIT Higher Ed Alliance member institution
- Susan Rodgers, at Duke University – an NCWIT Higher Ed Alliance member institution
- Brianna Blaser, Director and co-PI of AccessComputing at the University of Washington – an NCWIT Higher Ed Alliance member
- Anne Quiroz Gates, CAHSI backbone, professor of Computer Science, and Senior Advisor to the Provost on Strategic STEM Initiatives at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) – an NCWIT Higher Ed Alliance member institution
- Carol Fletcher, at the Texas Association of Community Colleges (TACC)
- Kinnis Gosha, professor at Morehouse College
- Wendy DuBow, NCWIT Director of Strategies for Education Research & Evaluation and Senior Research Scientist
NCWIT is proud to be a longtime member of the NSF BPC Alliances, and is grateful for the continued support of the NSF as an NCWIT Lifetime Partner.
Affinity Groups | Saturday, September 21th | 1 – 2 pm | Pacific A – D
The 2024 STARS Celebration is a co-located, all-day event which requires separate registration at starscelebration.org. The event is designed to recognize faculty and student leaders who help promote computing and AI service learning and research, especially for historically excluded groups. At 1 pm, join a panel to learn more from NCWIT Director of Programs Edie Cheng!
The STARS Celebration will run from 8:30 am to 5 pm, and features:
- sessions on best practices and resources for broadening participation in computing and AI
- hands-on training workshops for justice-centered K12 computing and AI outreach programs
- tech talks on emerging topics in research and industry, and
- career advancement sessions for both faculty and students.
Another highlight is the STARS Celebration poster session, which features student research as well as student & faculty efforts that advance inclusive computer science learning. The STARS Celebration conference also serves to build and sustain the STARS Computing Corps (STARS) community.
Find NCWIT alliance members
In addition to participating in the Learning and Engaging workshop, several members of NCWIT alliances at the conference are also presenting sessions.
Presentation | Thursday, September 19th | 3 – 4 pm | Pacific A
This session will bring together people who have a disability or who are interested in supporting individuals with disabilities in computing education or careers. The goal is to build community and to learn from each other about strategies for achieving success and ensuring that computing fields are welcoming and accessible to individuals with disabilities. Presenters include:
Workshop | Saturday, September 21st | 9 am – 3 pm | Palm 1 – 3
Companies will need engineers who can build accessible technology, because creating an accessible digital world requires people to design and build that world to be accessible. In the AccessComputing community, there’s exciting accessibility research being done by computer scientists. Yet, many computing students are not being taught about accessibility in their courses. This presentation offers a crash course on accessibility, research projects related to accessibility, and ways to build your skills after the workshop ends.
