Last week we had the absolute pleasure of participating in the inaugural Hopper Down Under conference which is an instance of the hugely successful Grace Hopper Celebration of Women annual event in the USA attended by 17 000 technical women now each year. Hopper Down Under attracted 700 tech go-getters to this 2-day event.
The keynotes were especially outstanding, with Dr Sue Black, who saved Bletchley Park where 8000+ women worked in tech in WW2, and Prof Lisa Harvey-Smith giving us hope for the next 10 years of women in STEM in Australia with the Decadel Plan. Dr Genevieve Bell from ANU gave us hope for the future by looking at our past, not so distant history.
We presented a poster on preparing teachers for our digital futures with leaders in the field of STEM and education in Australia, and we presented a poster with our colleagues at UTS on (download here on STEM x play) and we were fortunate to chair 2 amazing sessions – one on e-textiles and technology for blind children, and another by the Girls Programming Network on how to run a great girls in tech event.
Congrats to the team – and to the community, for making this VIP event happen.
