The Canadian Federation of University Women and the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers Award Angelica Lim and Jen Fernquist

There is a projected 40% increase in job growth in software engineering and database administration. As well, Network Systems and Data Communications Analysts will see a 57% growth in their field. (U.S. Department of Labour, Bureau of Labour Statistics. Projections 2002-2012).

While this is hearty news for all SFU Computing Science graduates and undergraduates, the number of people going into the IT industry is still not enough to meet the demand. Fortunately, the IT industry is aided by Computing Science students, Jennifer Fernquist and Angelica Lim.

For their outstanding recruitment work towards encouraging men and women in IT, and establishing WICS and ChicTech at SFU, Angelica Lim and Jennifer Fernquist have each been awarded the 2006 Canadian Federation of University Women, West Vancouver, Bursary Award (http://www.cfuw.org). CFUW recognizes and supports entrepreneurial women in their Computing or Engineering university studies.

Upon receiving the CFUW 2006 awards, Ms. Fernquist and Ms. Lim were informed of more good news. The Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Bursary committee awarded an additional bursary to Ms. Fernquist and Ms. Lim for their success in pre-college recruitment (http://www.ieee.org).

Nancy Wong, Advisor and Recruiter at SFU Computing Science, states the awards are highly deserved and could not come at a better time. "We need students, period. There are currently more CS co-op jobs than there are CS co-op students. High school students and parents are starting to see beyond the 'dotcom bust' and recognizing Computing Science as a steady, growing industry. They also know how important Math is in high school. But, the challenge comes from breaking the 'geek' stereotype, and informing the public of how interdisciplinary Computing Science really is. You don't have to sit in a Dilbert cubicle all day."

In fact, Jennifer Fernquist will be exercising her multiple skill sets by chairing the first ever Northwestern Technology Conference for Undergraduates (NTCU) in May 2007. Read more about NTCU here.

Meanwhile, Angelica Lim will be flying to France in January, to expand on her student exchange experience. Read more about Angelica's first work and study experience in Cote d'Azure, France.

Congratulations to Ms. Lim and Ms. Fernquist! Their continued efforts in encouraging young women and men to study Computing Science will definitely benefit the IT industry and, in turn, provide new graduates with a rewarding career.

To learn more about WICS, ChicTech and NTCU, please read on...

WICS is actively involved in promoting events with many opportunities to learn, network and have fun. Their main goals are to promote women in Computing Science, support them in their studies, and build a strong network of friendly faces for women in Computing Science. Some of the events and programs WICS has organized include: Speaker Series, where we bring in a woman from industry or academia to talk about her work and experiences; industry field trips, where a company representative (usually an SFU graduate) gives a tour of their company to a group of students; various social events, including chocolate parties, kayaking, hiking, sundae-making contests, etc.; and ChicTech.

ChicTech is a program that SFU started two years ago and is about to commence its third incarnation. It is a competition for high school girls in which they get into groups of three or four and build a website for a non-profit organization. The teams have a sponsor teacher at their school as well as two mentors who are senior SFU students. The program has had tremendous success and has been growing steadily each year; the first year was a pilot and had just 6 teams, but last year we joined with UBC and expanded to 16 teams total. This year we are collaborating with Langara College and Capilano College and growing once again.

NTCU is the first conference that SFU Computing Science Undergraduate students have organized. It will be held May 2-4 2007 at Simon Fraser University's Burnaby campus. The conference will have a strong focus on the latest happenings in technology and networking for/among undergraduate students. Its main goal is to introduce students to cool things that are happening in research and technology that they would not have otherwise had access to. At the same time, they will get to see which companies and schools are developing such technologies and network with industry representatives and professors.