The 2019 CRA-W Grad Cohort Workshop will be held at the Hilton Chicago in Downtown Chicago, IL on April 12-13.

Workshop Schedule:
Thursday, April 11 (optional activities)
1:00 – 8:00 PM – Early Registration
6:00 – 8:00 PM – Welcome reception for attendees, speakers, and sponsors
Friday, April 12
7:00 AM – Workshop officially begins with breakfast and registration
Saturday, April 13
4:00 PM – Workshop concludes

Registration: If selected and you register that you will be attending and an emergency arises and you cannot attend, you must notify us at least 72 hours before the workshop, or there will be a $200 cancellation fee.

Travel and Reimbursement: Your reasonable travel expenses will be reimbursed by CRA-W through funds generously provided by our Grad Cohort sponsors. Please economize as reasonably as possible. You will receive a step-by-step guide on how to complete your travel reimbursement form after the workshop. In the meantime, make your travel arrangements as soon as possible. Consider using websites such as Kayak.com.

• Keep all receipts; they are required for reimbursement.
  
• You will not be reimbursed for your trip expenses until you have completed the evaluation survey sent after the event.
• The reimbursement form must be submitted within 10 days of completing your conference related travel.
• If you are ‘local’, you may consider using train or bus services such as Greyhound or Amtrak.
• Rental cars are not a reimbursable travel arrangement.
• Please allow 4-6 weeks to receive your check via US mail.
• Optional: To receive your reimbursement funds faster, you may set up direct deposit. Complete the Direct Deposit form and email it to gradcohortreimburse@cra.org by February 22, 2019.  
• Contact us with any questions regarding travel arrangements.

Hotel (Hilton Chicago): Participants will be paired up to share a room. We do not consider roommate requests of any kind. We will make the hotel reservations and pay for your room expenses directly; however, upon arrival you will need to provide a credit card or debit card to the hotel for any incidental charges you incur such as room service, etc. Standard internet access will be provided free of charge in all guest rooms.

Airports and ground transportation: The main airports servicing this region are O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW).

Poster Session: There will be a Poster Session on Friday afternoon for participants to talk about their research. All invited participants are welcome to present a poster, and we encourage second and third-year students to take advantage of this opportunity to receive feedback on their research plans from fellow participants as well as from researchers from the sponsoring labs and nearby universities.

Those interested in being part of the poster session must provide a title and short abstract before February 15, 2019, by going to the link provided in your registration confirmation email.

Poster Details

• Your poster size should be no larger than 36″ x 48″ (Horizontal/Vertical Orientation)
• We will provide a poster stand, you will be sharing this poster stand with one other participant.
• Printing – You can print your poster through Makesigns, and receive a 10% discount using the following code: CRAW19. We encourage you to print a fabric poster, as it is much easier to travel with.

You can find additional Poster Guidelines HERE.

Are you a graduate student in computing-related studies, interested in interacting with successful women in your field who can give you advice on topics such as how to find and develop your research topic, how to prepare for your career after graduate school, and how to balance work and life?

Eligibility: Women students in their first, second or third year of graduate school in computer science and engineering or a closely related field, who are attending an institution in the U.S. or its territories, or an institution in Canada. Students that have not previously attended a Grad Cohort Workshop will be given priority.

When are applications due?

The Grad Cohort 2019 applications are due by November 15, 2018 at 11:59pm EST.

To stay up to date with CRA-W and Grad Cohort News join our mailing list, follow us on Twitter @CRAWomen or join our Facebook Group.

What information is needed in the application?

Information about your current graduate student status and institution is required. We also request information about your demographics.

When will I learn the status of my application?

Invitations to Grad Cohort are distributed in waves throughout January and early February of the year of the workshop. We thank you for your patience as we work though the process of extending invitations. Please do not ask the status of your application before mid February of the year of the workshop and please check your spam folder before sending email.