Saint Stephen’s College Celebrates Women in the Tech Industry

Saint Stephen’s College hosted its fifth ‘International Girls in ICT Day’ in partnership with ACS, encouraging young women to explore careers in technology. Over 200 students engaged with guest speakers from Replica Media, Deloitte Digital, and Women in Technology at QUT. The event also featured a special keynote on global robotics innovations and plenty of hands-on activities, leaving students inspired about the future of tech.

For the fifth consecutive year, Saint Stephen’s College celebrated ‘International Girls in ICT Day’ on Tuesday, 29 April. This event was held in partnership with the Australian Computer Society’s ICT Gateway to Industry Schools project and organised by Digital Solutions teacher Casey McManus.

While the focus was on promoting tech careers to female students in Years 7 and 8, the morning also included the boys to ensure they didn’t miss out on the fun and to continue highlighting the role of girls in the tech industry, past, present, and future.

A total of 224 students listened intently to the stories and advice of technology and engineering specialists, including:

·       Danny Krusvar – Replica Media and SSC alumni

·       Kimberly Valenny – Deloitte Digital and ACS Young Tech Ambassador

·       Belinda Zhou – Women in Technology at QUT

·       Hebe Bickman – Women in Technology at QUT

·       Tina Huynh - Women in Technology at QUT

Former Saint Stephen’s teacher Matthew Jorgensen provided an interactive keynote on ‘Future Problem Solvers’, showcasing amazing robots being deployed around the world and offering plenty of opportunities for students to win ACS merchandise.

The student audience asked numerous questions, and the expert panel provided insights into study options, day-to-day work activities, and thoughts on Artificial Intelligence. Welcoming the innovative Danny Krusvar, 2015 Senior and founding AI Software Engineer at Replica Media, back to his high school to talk to the students made the morning extra special.

The ICT Gateway to Industry Schools project and Young Tech Ambassadors program are proudly funded by the Queensland Government.

 

Article written by Matthew Jorgensen Education Pathways & Partnerships Manager at ACS