Second CWC – Computing Women Congress (Feb 2006)
Yes! There it is again – the New Zealand CWC, the southern sister of the German informatica feminale. Considering the congress language, this article is written in English.
There is a close connection between the German and the New Zealand summer university. Maja and Annika, for example, are formerly lecturers at informatica feminale in Bremen and will lecture in "Content-based Image Retrieval" and "Location-based Mobile Services". To make your mouth water, I will report you what courses will take place from Saturday on for about one week.
Keynote: Sarah Lee — Mother Of All Maniacs (IT Maniacs): Life on the Bleeding Edge
"If you are not living life on the bleeding edge you are taking up too much room!" so say the Maniacs.
ITmaniacs, New Zealand’s fastest growing IT recruitment company, is focused on pure geek talent. Hear how two women with no qualifications managed to wing it in a male dominated industry enticing geeks out of the woodwork and onto our network. The war stories, the tears before bedtime, the bodice-ripper novels (by Eva Mantobed) and the good-hair days. Just how did they convince executive boards to "bring in the Maniacs"? Wonder no more about what’s hot and what’s not, what’s in and what’s out, what’s jargon and what’s rubbish, how to write your CV, how to capitalise on your talents before you need to use them and the well kept secret art of marketing yourself.
["Life at Google" by Neha Narula (Software Engineer at Google Inc.) and more…]
More exciting events
Margaret Jefferies Award for the best student paper at the CWC 2006 will be presented by Sally Jo Cunningham along with a talk about Margaret and her project "Women in Computing". In another talk Maggie Alexander (FITT’s Steering Committee) informs about "Females in Information Technology & Telecommunications in Australia". Other topics are a report about the "Young Women’s Programming Contest", "Life at IBM" and – most interesting – "Her Story – IT women tell their personal story".
The courses
Software Engineering can be learned in various fields:
- Java Servlets and JSP’s Java Web Component Development
- Introduction to Java
- What is Business Systems Analysis?
Business Systems Analysis competencies are required by anyone working with computer applications that enable business processes. Skills such as process modelling are needed but these can be easily learnt, unlike innate abilities to analyse systems and to communicate findings. Some of these important competencies can be identified with a human resources tool, Interplace, which is based on Belbin’s Team Roles theory. Less tangible is the ability to see the business system itself, how it is performing and how it relates to other systems. However, drawing on systems theory, it is possible to understand the inner workings of business systems. Analysing the people, process and technologies involved in the business system is facilitated by practical tools for team work. These include innovative technology such as the Team Meeting System which enables teams of people to work together to identify process problems and solutions. Sticky Walls are also used to enable teams of people to work together on process designs. The insights gained from using these tools enable anyone to understand how to improve a business system. This 3-hour practical workshop provides an understanding of what competencies are required to be successful in the role of a Business Systems Analyst. Practical methods to understand typical business systems and improve them are discussed in the context of systems theory. Participants learn and practice business systems analysis skills using innovative tools including the Team Meeting System and Sticky Walls.
Machine Learning is the header of courses like an Introduction to Machine Learning Using WEKA. Information Systems meets the fields of XML, Music Retrieval, Location-based Mobile Services as well as Ontologies and Semantic Web. In the Human-Computer Interaction and Social Factors slot, something about Conducting User Research, Balancing the View: The Social Impact of IT or Users with Impairments will be taught. Last, but not least, there is a creativity course: UpStage – Live Online Performance.
Link: www.cwc.org.nz
Maria
von Maria