Computing degrees have seen a 23% growth in accepted applications from women since 2019; according to new analysis by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT. This is a higher percentage rise than for any other UCAS subject group. The ‘surging’ increase is particularly marked amongst 18-year old women taking computing at university, up by 47% between 2019 and 2022, BCS found. The growth rate for 18-year old men over the same period was lower, at 29%. BCS said the rise was ‘striking and important’ but cautioned that the number of women starting computing degrees this year (6,450) is still low compared with the number of men (27,735). Male students still outnumber female students in computer science by 4.3 to 1 this year, but the gap has closed slightly from in 2021 (4.7 to 1).

Over 100 extraordinary and inspiring women working in tech, came together to celebrate at the 2022 TechWomen100 Awards on Tuesday December 6th at the QEII Centre in London. As they did so, the founder of the Awards, Vanessa Vallely OBE, called on employers to redress the ‘pitifully low’ 21% representation of women in tech with the female tech talent pipeline clear to see The TechWomen100 Awards, powered by Barclays, focus on the achievements of up-and-coming women currently working in tech below senior management level. By shining a light on the female tech talent pipeline, the Awards seek to encourage and support the next generation of female tech role models and leaders. Now in their fifth year, the TechWomen100 Awards recognise the impact of individuals, companies and networks that are leading the way for future generations of tech talent. They form a key part of the WeAreTechWomen’s campaign to find and support 1,000 future female leaders in technology by 2025. So far, since 2015, the TechWomen100 awards have highlighted the achievements of 450 women.

Amanda Armijo, D.V.M., Ph.D., of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), was selected as the 25th recipient of the Karen Wetterhahn Memorial Award. This award from the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) recognizes an outstanding graduate student or postdoctoral researcher who exemplifies characteristics of the award’s namesake. Armijo received the award December 15 at the SRP Annual Meeting in Raleigh, North Carolina. This MIT researcher gained recognition for her work on tracing how the toxin NDMA damages genes, and how the DNA might repair itself.

If you are you a pre-doctoral student in life sciences, physical sciences, behavioral sciences, mathematics or engineering you can apply for the AWIS Distinguished Doctoral Research Scholarship. These annual prizes support the professional development and advancement of AWIS members. Due to the generous support of their donors, AWIS has awarded over 40 scholarships in the last decade and awarded hundreds of grants to local AWIS chapters. Applications opened on December 9, 2022 and close February 28, 2023.

At CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, physicists and engineers are probing the fundamental structure of the universe. Using the world's largest and most complex scientific instruments, they study the basic constituents of matter - fundamental particles that are made to collide together at close to the speed of light. The process gives physicists clues about how particles interact, and provides insights into the fundamental laws of nature. During two full months corresponding to 9 weeks (June-August 2023), CERN openlab summer students will work on an advanced IT project and will be given a series of IT lectures specially prepared for them by experts at CERN and other institutes. The students also have the opportunity to attend the main CERN Summer student programme lectures, if they wish. Visits to the accelerators and experimental areas are part of the programme, as well as visits to external companies, pandemic allowing. A short report and a presentation on your work and project at CERN will be expected at the end of your stay.

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Code Computerlove has appointed Gemma Handley as its new Managing Director. Gemma joined Code in 2018 and the promotion sees her moving from Commercial Director to Managing Director at the start of 2023. Gemma will replace current MD Rob Jones who is taking up a new position outside the group. Part of MediaCom North, Code was established in 1999 by founders Tony Foggett, Louis Georgiou and Wini Tse, and Gemma will now lead the 80-strong agency through its next phase of growth. Gemma has 15 years of experience in commercial delivery and operations and has been instrumental in introducing new company-wide operational and cultural initiatives, alongside progressing team-centric practices and relationship-focused collaboration tools. Prior to joining Code, she held delivery roles at some of Manchester’s biggest dot-coms including LateRooms and ao.com as well as working for agencies like Kin & Carta (formerly Amaze) and Dept (formerly Building Blocks). In January, the group will be officially part of EssenceMediacom and move into the new WPP Campus based in Enterprise City and St John’s tech, media and creative quarter.

Applications are open for AWIS scholarships, and they have even more to give this year! They'll award up to 13 scholarships for WomenInScience who are pre-doctoral students, women re-entering the workforce, and undergraduate students. You can apply by February 28.

“The job that pays me,” Jessica Wade told VICE, smiling, “is that of a material scientist who works on new material technology for a more sustainable future.” So, what’s the non-paying job for the 34-year-old British scientist who works as a research fellow in the Department of Materials at the Imperial College in London? Since 2017, it’s been writing a Wikipedia entry every day, sometimes even two, to highlight the achievements of women scientists whose contributions to the world have either gone unnoticed or remain largely unacknowledged, no thanks to the systemic racial bias in Wikipedia’s coverage as well as that of mainstream media. Wade had been thinking of “equity and representation in science” for a really long time, which is what led her to undertake what would later become an increasingly ambitious project. Having completed both her undergrad and PhD courses in physics, Wade was mindful to the extent her field of study remains largely accessible to people from more privileged socio-economic backgrounds. It’s also a field that is largely dominated by white men.

Kelsey Byers outlines some of the things disabled scientists should look out when they are looking to move labs, both at home and abroad. Byers, an evolutionary chemical ecologist who was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome in her 20s and is now a group leader at the John Innes Institute, a plant and microbial research institute in Norwich, UK, also offers advice on how to talk about disability to potential employers. She is joined by Logan Gin, a STEM education researcher at Brown University in Providence. Gin, who has diastrophic dysplasia dwarfism, describes how his research is helping to identify solutions to support students with disabilities.

Like graphing data, choosing controls, or mixing clear solutions - public speaking is a skill any scientist can learn. Public speaking skills are developed over time with practice and experience. Dr. Joanne Kamens offers fundamentals for preparing and delivering a public talk that will keep the audience awake and interested.