This article is published in the November 2022 issue.

CRA Update: Keeping you in the know

By: Erik Russell, CRA Director of Programs, Lauren Lashlee, CRA Program Associate, Evelyn Yarzebinski, CERP Senior Research Associate, and Kristi Kelly, CERP Senior Research AssociateIn: /

Attention Faculty: Support broadening participation in computing efforts by encouraging eligible graduate students to apply for the 2023 CRA-WP Graduate Cohort Workshops.

Image from Grad Cohort for IDEALS 2022

Grad Cohort IDEALS

The CRA-WP Grad Cohort Workshop for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Leadership Skills (GC-IDEALS) will take place March 23-25, 2023 at The ‘Alohilani Resort Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, HI. Applications are now being accepted and will close on November 30, 2022. Please share the following link to eligible graduate students: Link to GC-IDEALS Application

Since the launch of GC-IDEALS in 2018, this workshop has served over 550 Master’s and PhD students in computer science, computer engineering, and other closely related fields that were attending an institution in the U.S. or its territories, or in Canada at the time of participation. Priority is given to individuals from populations minoritized in computing: Native American/ Alaskan Native/ Pacific Islander; Black/ African American; Hispanic/ Latinx; Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Trans, Queer, Asexual, Intersex, Non-binary and others; Persons with disabilities; and Veterans.

General Session Meeting: Grad Cohort for IDEALS 2022

GC-IDEALS participants spend two days interacting with senior computing researchers and professionals, who share pertinent information on skills to thrive in graduate school, as well as more personal information and situational insights about their experiences. The workshop includes a mix of formal presentations and informal discussions and social events. Topics uniquely discussed at GC-IDEALS include: Overcoming Insufficient Academic Preparation: Perceived and Real, Building Resiliency and Overcoming Failure, and Empowerment of People with Disabilities. By attending the GC-IDEALS Workshop, individuals are able to build mentoring relationships and develop peer networks that form the basis for ongoing activities during their graduate career and beyond.

Image from Grad Cohort for Women 2022

Grad Cohort for Women

The Grad Cohort Workshop for Women (GC-Women) will be held April 20-22, 2023 at The Palace Hotel in San Francisco, CA. Applications are now being accepted and will close on November 30, 2022. Please share the following link to eligible graduate students: Link to GC-Women Application

Breakout Session Panel: Grad Cohort for Women 2022

​​GC-Women began in 2004 and, since 2004, has served over 5,550 Master’s and PhD students who are in computer science, computer engineering, and other closely related fields that were attending an institution in the U.S. or its territories, or in Canada at the time of participation. The program is intended for persons who identify as women and who are in their first, second, or third year of graduate school, in hopes to increase the number of senior women in computing-related studies and research. By building and mentoring nationwide communities of women through their graduate studies, we have been able to provide support systems that allow women to thrive and grow in their academic careers.

GC-Women participants spend two days engaging with senior computing-related researchers and professionals that identify as women. Throughout these interactions, participants will hear pertinent information on how to navigate and manage graduate school, as well as more personal information and insights from senior researchers and professionals experience in the field. The workshop includes formal presentations, informal discussions, 1-on-1 mentoring opportunities, and social events. Topics uniquely discussed at GC-Women include: Building Self-confidence, Teaching Your First Course, and A Research Mindset. By attending Grad Cohort for Women, participants are given the means to build mentoring relationships. Additionally, participants are provided the opportunity to develop peer networks that will form the basis for ongoing support systems throughout their graduate career and beyond.

Impact of GC-IDEALS and GC-Women

CRA CERP evaluation results for both of the Grad Cohort events have demonstrated that those who attend a workshop highly benefit from the experience. In both of the Grad Cohort programs, pre- and post program surveys have shown that after attending the workshops, participants:

  • have increased levels of identification with and belonging in computing
  • have increased confidence that they can succeed in their educational and professional endeavors
  • perceive that they have greater levels of mentor support
  • perceive that they have greater levels of professional support from peers and colleagues

GRAPHSee the graph (right) for a visualization of recent results of Grad Cohort participants’ perception of mentor support and professional support from peers and colleagues. Participants provided an answer on a scale of 1 (Strongly disagree) to 5 (Strongly agree). Overall, there was a significant improvement in perceptions of levels of mentor support and professional networks after participation in a Grad Cohort event.

CERP additionally conducted a follow-up survey of prior attendees of GC-Women. In that survey, a majority of respondents reported that their highest degree attained was a PhD; however, within a comparative sample of individuals who did not attend GC-Women, a majority of respondents reported that their highest degree attained was a Master’s degree (Stout & Wright, 2017).

Thank you to our sponsors

Both GC-IDEALS and GC-Women Workshops would not be possible without the generous contributions of the community. In recent years, the Graduate Cohort program has been supported by organizations from industry, academia, and the federal government. These include: AccessComputing, the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM), ACM SIGACT, ACM SIGAI, ACM SIGARCH, ACM SIGCHI, ACM SIGCOMM, ACM SIGCSE, ACM SIGGRAPH, ACM SIGHPC, ACM SIGIR,

Google

Industry Sponsor: Google; Grad Cohort for IDEALS 2022

ACM SIGKDD, ACM SIG MICRO, ACM SIGMOBILE, ACM SIGOPS, ACM SIGPLAN, ACM SIGSOFT, AnitaB.org, Bloomberg, CRA, D.E. Shaw Research, Dataminr, U.S. Department of Energy, Facebook, Google, IBM, IEEE-CS TCCA, Intel, Microsoft Research, National Security Agency, U.S. National Science Foundation, Shanahan Family Foundation, Raytheon – BBN Technologies, Snowflake, and SRC.

The workshops aim to increase the ranks of senior women and people from populations minoritized in computing by building and mentoring nationwide communities for the duration of their graduate studies and careers afterwards. We are currently accepting sponsors for our Grad Cohort programs. If you are interested in finding out more on becoming a sponsor, please click the links below:

Link to Impact from Sponsorship

Link to Sponsorship Form

The CRA-WP Graduate Cohort programs are based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number (1840724) and the Department of Energy under Grant Number (DE-SC0021328). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or the Department of Energy.

References

Stout, J. G., & Wright, H. M. (2017). CRA-W/CDC Alliance Evaluation Report: Following up with Past Student Participants and Non-participants. Washington, DC: Computing Research Association.