HackHers Hackathon: Building Community along with Code
[February, 2015] Computer Science was the lone field in the sciences
to have fewer
bachelor’s degrees awarded to women in 2012 than in 2002
, but Rutgers women in computing are striving to
reverse this trend. They are reaching out to younger students
through organizations like the Douglass-DIMACS Computing Corps (DDCC) and building a
community among peers through the Rutgers Women in Computer Science
(WICS) group, which recently
organized a hackathon geared toward women.
The “HackHers” hackathon was held February 7-8 in the Busch Student
Center at Rutgers University. The event was conceived and organized
by computer science students Julie Duncan, Jasmine Feng, and Amanda
Goonetilleke—all active participants in DDCC and WICS—with
assistance from Elaine Zundl, dean of the Douglass Project for Women
in Math, Science and Engineering.
A primary aim of HackHers was to be welcoming to
newcomers—especially women, but also men—and get them comfortable
with coding. In all there were about 130 hackers, in addition to
various sponsors and volunteers, making HackHers small by hackathon
standards, but also less intimidating. The event drew many
participants from outside the traditional computing disciplines by
offering instructional workshops for new coders, talks on topics of
general interest (like salary negotiation), and (of course) lots of
food.
Fuelled by comradery and copious catering, students worked around
the clock, either alone or in small groups, to brainstorm projects
and implement their ideas. At the end of the day (or, more
accurately, at the start of the next day), participants won prizes
in categories that included the best mobile application, best Web
application, best silly app, and best interface. Projects were
judged on creativity, technical merit, and potential to make an
impact, particularly in improving the lives of women.
Rosheen Chaudhry, a junior computer science major and member of both
DDCC and WICS, won the award
for best Web application with “FemInformed”, an application that gathers
news on feminist issues through the NY Times application program
interface (API). Users can search for news in categories that
include Education, Workplace, Science, Reproductive Rights, and
Politics, among others. The aim of FemInformed is to provide
information on topics that affect women every day, and through
information, comes empowerment. The photo at left shows Chaudhry (left) receiving the award for best Web application from fellow DDCC and WICS member Kahini Amin (right). The FemInformed interface is shown behind them.
Given the success of the event, WICS members are already thinking
about plans for next year’s HackHers hackathon. You can read more
about this year’s hackathon in articles from the Daily
Targum and mycentraljersey.com
or watch this
video containing interviews with Julie Duncan and Elaine
Zundl.
Printable version of this story: [PDF]
DIMACS Homepage
Contacting the
Center