MinneWIC 2017 - CAll for Participation

MinneWIC 2017 invites contributions in the following categories:

Posters (Open to students)
Lightning talks (Open to all attendees)
Birds-of-Feather (BOF) sessions (Open to all attendees)
Faculty and professional women
Information table (Open to corporations and academic institutions)

Submission details follow the category descriptions below.

POSTERS. Students are encouraged to submit posters on research, class projects, and work-in-progress for a poster reception on Friday, February 17. The poster reception gives students the opportunity to discuss their work with conference attendees in an informal setting. Submit a poster abstract summarizing the key idea of your poster. Poster abstracts will be lightly reviewed for suitability only. Our goal is to help students gain confidence in discussing their work. Posters should be 24"x36". See below for submission details. Prospective poster presenters may wish to see this Making a technical poster for guidance on creating posters or our list of topic ideas (see below).

LIGHTNING TALKS. Lightning Talks are five-minute mini-presentations on any subject relevant to the conference. A lightning talk may be given by one or more students, faculty, or industry professionals. Submit a brief description of the topic of your talk and list the name(s) and affiliation(s) of the speakers(s). (For information on how to give a lightning talk, see this advice by Mark Fowler.)

BOF. Birds of Feather (BoF) sessions are informal discussion groups on specific topics of interest. Attendees split into small groups to discuss specific technical or social topics that interest them. Suitable topics for discussion include anything related to computing: careers, education, challenges, student organizations, or a variety of other topics. BoF sessions may be organized by one or more students, faculty, and industry professionals. Submit a proposal briefly describing the discussion topic and listing the name(s) and affiliations(s) of the organizer(s). BoF session proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and will be accepted until the program is full. Our goal is to engender a lively exchange of ideas and foster a sense of community and mutual support. (You might want to check out this resource on leading effective discussions when putting together your BOF.)

FACULTY AND PROFESSIONAL WOMEN. Women from academia and business are invited to share their experiences by participating as a panelist or engaging in informal discussions with students throughout the conference. Interested volunteers should submit a brief bio and a synopsis of the topic(s) you would like to share. Submissions will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the program is full.

INFORMATION TABLE. We will be hosting a career fair on Saturday February 18. Corporations and academic institutions that are interested in hosting an information table at this fair should contact Maria Gini (gini at um.edu).

HOW TO SUBMIT

The deadline for poster and lightning talk submissions is Friday January 27. Notification of acceptance will be made by Tuesday January 31. Submissions for BOF sessions and info tables will be accepted on a rolling basis until the program is full. Please submit early to guarantee a spot in the program.

Submit to https://goo.gl/forms/BOI33ypS7GzbquDf1.

TOPIC SUGGESTIONS

MinneWIC encourages participants to submit posters, lightning talks, and BOF ideas on any topic of interest to conference attendees. Some suggestions include (but are not limited to):

Original research results - motivation for the research and the key ideas explored
Historical overview of some field of computing research or technology
Impact on society of some field of computing research or technology
Ethical issues relating to some field of computing research or technology
How to survive a computing major
Programming tips
Research, internship, or co-op experiences
How to get involved in research
Choosing a research advisor
Choosing a good research topic
How to create a successful Women In Computing group
An activity that your Women in CS organization conducted that was really successful. Or an activity or two that you wish your organization would conduct.
Tips for a new teaching assistant
Career networking tips
A tribute to a role model: What a specific woman did to help you; why her efforts "worked".
An open letter from a student to her instructors: What works and what doesn't - from the student perspective.
Tips for mentoring. What works and what doesn't from the student/faculty perspective
What you've learned that you'd like to tell a first-year student in order to help her
How to encourage young women to develop their interest in computing