Computer science connections

In September, Tufts Women in Computer Science (WiCS) hosted its third annual Women in Tech (WiT) conference. The conference fosters community between women and gender non-conforming students on the Tufts campus, introduces these students to notable alumni, and prepares them to launch careers in STEM fields through talks and workshops.

The co-president of WiT, Emily Tran, A21, said of the event: “I loved spending the day surrounded by other women in the industry. For me, it set an important tone for the event, and made me much more willing to ask different attendees about their experiences.” Alumni support is an important factor in the conference’s success. Alums participated as speakers and panelists, and hosted casual discussion tables over lunch. Tran continued, “We also got to see a lot of members of the WiCS community come back, including our WiT co-chair from last year, Supriya [Sanjay, A19]!”

In early October, undergraduate CS students and CS alumni traveled to Orlando to celebrate women in tech at the Grace Hopper Celebration, the world’s largest gathering of women technologists. The Tufts students heard from influential leaders in the field, participated in career building workshops, and connected with each other and other accomplished women in STEM. Due to generous alumni support through a successful crowdfunding campaign, the department was able to send more than 30 students to what proved to be an empowering experience. The remainder of the funds raised will help send students to other affinity events.

Later in October, Tufts PolyHack, a hackathon designed for all students regardless of major, skill level, or class year, provided another avenue for community building. The event brought together 260 students and alumni under the umbrella of tech to spend a night collaborating, creating, and coding. Among the winning projects were TuneWise, a game app that tests the user’s musical knowledge, Log'em, which captures the memorable emotions in a user’s life, and Swipe Share, which schedules meals to bring together students in need of a meal swipe with those who have extra.

The Department of Computer Science extends its thanks to all alumni for their continued support.