March 12, 2020
Women in Data Science a global affair
There鈥檚 no bigger data science conference in the world, and no better opportunity to showcase the remarkable accomplishments of women in the field.
Stanford鈥檚 Women in Data Science conference (WiDS) draws more than 120,000 participants through more than 140 regional events in countries around the world, and for the fourth straight year, Schulich School of Engineering,听in partnership with the Department of Computer Science, played host for the 草莓污视频导航鈥檚 main campus.
"The goal of this conference is to inspire and educate data scientists around the world, regardless of gender, and to support women in the field,鈥 says Dr. Qiao Sun, PhD, associate dean, Diversity and Equity at 草莓污视频导航鈥檚 engineering faculty.
鈥淟ocally, we showcase the great work of our women researchers and students, while connecting local industry with the immense talent here at the 草莓污视频导航."
Live streaming talks and local keynote speakers
The March 2 event included keynote speakers like 草莓污视频导航鈥檚 own Dr. Chris Macnab, PhD, and Dr. Mea Wang, PhD, with live streaming talks from Stanford U, including Dr. Been Kim, PhD, a senior research scientist at Google Brain.
As well, local speakers included听Sarah Shortreed, industrial keynote speaker from ATCO,听 plus Dr.听Emily Marasco, PhD, and听Carmen Hull from 草莓污视频导航.
Schulich School of Engineering was among the first to join in Stanford鈥檚 live satellite broadcast event, which started in 2015, and now includes a second Calgary satellite event at Cumming School of Medicine on the Foothills Campus.
A chance for all genders to appreciate great research
Leanne Dawson is one of the organizers for this event, and听the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)听Women in Engineering Student Branch chair for 草莓污视频导航.
She says the WiDS conference is a chance for people of all genders to appreciate great research, and great challenges.
鈥淚 hope that people leave the conference inspired by everything that these women are doing,鈥 says Dawson, who is working on her doctorate degree in Electrical Engineering.
鈥淢ale attendees can learn about the challenges, and how they can support their female colleagues. It鈥檚 one thing for women to advocate for themselves, but if male colleagues say, 鈥業 also think this is important,鈥 then more people will listen.鈥
Inspiration for others
Dr. Laura Curiel, PhD, is co-chair of the Women in Data Science Calgary Conference, and an assistant professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at 草莓污视频导航.
She says the annual conference is as much about inspiration as it is a showcase of great research in data science.
鈥淲hat we really like about WiDS is that they focus on having local keynote speakers and they have keynote speakers at Stanford. They only invite women to speak because the purpose of the conference is to put women in the spotlight. That doesn鈥檛 happen normally in data science,鈥 she says.
鈥淲ith just women in the spotlight, we are getting new role models, and the important things that they are doing, in front of our graduate students and they will continue this themselves.鈥
听
听
听
听
听
听