news

Cecilia Avila, UIC CS ’20, wins GET Chicago Fellowship
by Andrea Poet Cecilia Avila, a fall 2020 graduate of UIC’s computer science program, is part of GET Cities’ inaugural cohort of the GET Chicago Fellowship program, which launched this month. GET stands for Gender Equality in Tech. As one of 20 area women to receive...

A big “YES” to computer science changed my life
This is part of Break Through Tech Chicago’s series of HOW columns, which tell how women in technology got where they are today and how we can increase the presence of women in technology tomorrow — in “her own words.” by Naomi Kaduwela, Head of Kavi Labs I had just...

Finding your power — and using it to lift others
This is part of Break Through Tech Chicago’s series of HOW columns, which tell how women in technology got where they are today and how we can increase the presence of women in technology tomorrow — in “her own words.” This month's author, Sarah Ather, was...

Coding a gender remix for the next generation
This is part of Break Through Tech Chicago’s series of HOW columns, which tell how women in technology got where they are today and how we can increase the presence of women in technology tomorrow — in “her own words.” by Gina Gerace, current senior, UIC computer...

Break Through Tech Chicago announces strategic expert as new director
Amita Shetty has been selected to lead the UIC computer science department’s Break Through Tech program, a national initiative aimed at achieving gender equality in tech. Earlier this year, following a competitive application process, UIC became the first recipient of...

And you know what? I did it.
This is part of Break Through Tech Chicago’s series of HOW columns, which tell how women in technology got where they are today and how we can increase the presence of women in technology tomorrow — in “her own words.” by Heather Kuhn, UIC ’18 Was it being the only...

Bringing the brains of tech to the heart of Chicago
Our HOW columns allow a woman in technology to give — in“her own words” — her perspective on an aspect of the tech world. by Nimeesha Chan ThinkChicago is a national STEM talent attraction and retention program for Chicago tech and innovation companies, and for this...

Solving old problems with new tech
Our Summer Guild program was taught virtually this year, but that didn't prevent Shanon Reckinger's students from coming up with bright ideas for resolving problems related to food insecurity. Story by David Brazy. Photograph by Jim Young. As a term, “food insecurity”...

The computational power of the puff-ball cactus
Part of Break Through Tech Chicago's series of HOW columns, which tell how women in technology got where they are today and how we can increase the presence of women in technology tomorrow — in "her own words." by Hilda Mendoza-Avila My name is Hilda Mendoza-Avila,...

Talk to me
The Internet is pretty old at this point. It began more than 50 (!) years ago as a U.S. Department of Defense project, students in Break Through Tech Chicago's introductory computer science course learned. Back then, it was called ARPANET, short for Advanced Research...