Build Your ACM-W Student Chapter: 4. Event Planning

The Ohio State University Student Chapter of the ACM-W was chartered on May 13, 2003 and is one of the oldest continuously operating ACM-W Student Chapters. This chapter annually hosts 40+ events that include trips to the Grace Hopper Celebration, the Ohio Celebration of Women in Computing, company visits, tech talks, socials, and workshops. They have around 50 active members, and they serve a total community of about 200 students. They often send more than 50 Ohio State students to the Grace Hopper Celebration, and can provide financial support for travel and registration costs to 35 of these through chapter fundraising efforts.

Learn how to build, maintain and grow a strong ACM-W chapter from The Ohio State’s ACM-W Chapter Leaders.

In this segment, ACM-W OSU Chapter Officer, Laura, talks about planning effective events for your club. She says that the best way to grow your club and your community is through events. Consider hosting a back-to-school social at the start of the semester, tech talks with professors, and networking events with company recruiters. To plan your event, think about these three event basics: your venue, menu and calendar.

Venue: The size of your room should reflect your expectations about the number of attendees.

Calendar: Having consistent regular events (weekly, monthly, etc) will help your members plan ahead to attend. If your club is new, you may only have a few meetings a semester.

Menu: Students like food, so try to have something for them. Check with your school to see if they have funding that can be used to provide drinks and snacks. Or, if you are hosting a session for a company recruiter, see if they can provide refreshments.

Does your chapter have regular meetings? Where do you meet and how often? What kinds of snacks do your members like?

Looking for ideas for ACM-W Student Chapter events? ACM has sixty-two suggestions for you!

Let us know by interacting with us on Twitter, Mastodon or Facebook. Use #BuildYourACMWChapter and our handle @OfficialACMW Want to know more about how to start an ACM-W Student Chapter at your school? Here’s the quick-start guide.

This series continues. Please read the other tips in this series:

  1. Mission Statement
  2. Goal Setting
  3. Executive Board
  4. Event Planning
  5. Member Recruiting
  6. Funding
  7. Company Relationships
  8. Community Involvement
  9. Sustainability
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