Chicago

Two students collaborate in a hands-on computing lab space at UIC

The tech world of tomorrow will look different. There will be more diversity: in gender, in background, in ways of thinking. It will be that way because of the important work we are doing here today.

Amita Shetty

Director, Break Through Tech Chicago

Who Are You?

Why study tech?

Once you have expertise in computing and data, you can find a home for it in any field that interests you: marketing, transportation, health, urban development, social networking, or almost anything else you can imagine.

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115

Number of UIC students who participate in Sprinternships™ each year

Sprinternships are three-week micro-internships that give UIC freshmen, sophomores, and juniors a valuable first tech work experience that makes them more competitive for full-length summer internships. Learn more on our Sprinternships page.

600+

Our goal for the number of female CS and DS majors at UIC by 2024

Break Through Tech seeks to prepare more female and nonbinary students for great jobs in the tech sector by giving them the academic preparation they need: a UIC major or minor in a field such as computer science, computer science + design, computer science and linguistics, or data science.

Sarah Ather, UIC '19, an associate application developer at CNA

If you are taking your first step into the world of tech, know that it is OK to be scared, but do not let that fear stop you. Learn to develop your own perspective and value it.

Sarah Ather she/her

UIC CS '19, Associate Application Developer, CNA

Read Sarah's story

Join us

Break Through Tech Chicago partner organizations are on the forefront of advancing gender diversity in tech.

If you share our passion for creating greater opportunity for women in technological roles, explore how your organization can get involved.

100+

Number of employers that have offered Break Through Tech Sprinternships to date

Sprinternships pair UIC computer science and data science students with Chicago-area organizations for paid micro-internships in tech. Three weeks can launch a career. Find out more about Sprinternships in our guide for employers.

Being the only girl intern at a software-testing company made me want to show every male executive at the company that a girl can code, too. And, guess what? I did just that.

Heather Kuhn

UIC '18

Read Heather's story

Break Through Tech Chicago stories

All Stories & Insights

For every obstacle, a resolution

Switching majors from sociology to computer science can be daunting enough, but that wasn't the only challenge Toni Raggs faced in college. In this Their Own Words column, Toni talks through the obstacles they surmounted and shares advice for other students who might be facing the same ones.

Read This Article

Story

Taguhi Yenokyan’s Journey Towards Discovering a Passion for Machine Learning and Data Science

For Taguhi, it was Break Through Tech AI at UCLA in 2023 that her path became clear and discovered her true calling.

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DC Story

Announcing Break Through Tech DC at UMD’s 2024 Sprinternship Host Organizations

70 UMD students will be matched with companies for signature micro-internship program.

Read This Article