María José Chavolla Zamora

I had the privilege of attending the Latin American Regional Meeting (LARIM) of the International Astronomical Union in Montevideo, Uruguay. This marked my second time presenting my research and a significant milestone as my debut in an international conference of such prominence. I presented my research that I have been working during my undergraduate degree in Physics for over a year. This conference proved to be a remarkable experience, not only for the opportunity to showcase my work but also for delving into diverse research areas presented by fellow participants. Meeting accomplished professionals and establishing valuable networks added an extra layer of richness to my experience.

This was a great opportunity as I will be starting grad school next year and was able to narrow down my desired area of study which will predominantly revolve around the application of machine learning and artificial intelligence to spectroscopy, specifically targeting metal-poor stars. I am sincerely grateful for the support provided by ACM-W, enabling me to participate in this enriching conference and for supporting women. The insights gained and connections made will undoubtedly shape my academic and research trajectory in the exciting field of astrophysics.

Selma Auala

The experience was nothing short of amazing. At the AfriCHI 2023 conference, I delved deep into the realm of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) with African context and truly learned a lot. I was privileged to not only learn about HCI in depth but also to facilitate a workshop on Co-designing with Children. The interaction and insights gained during this workshop were invaluable, providing a unique perspective on user-centric design principles. This conference marked a very significant milestone in my academic journey, as I was honored to present, for the my very first time, a paper I co-authored. The thrill of sharing our work with esteemed professionals in the field and the subsequent recognition—winning the award for Best Full Paper and Best Short Paper—was beyond gratifying.

Beatriz Pereira de Souza

I am very grateful to the ACM-W Scholarship Committee for providing me with the opportunity to receive a scholarship that enabled my participation in ACM SIGMETRICS 2023, held in Orlando, FL, USA. This event marked my debut in the realm of academic conferences, where I had the privilege of presenting my research at the ACM SIGMETRICS Student Research Competition (SRC) under the title “An Energy-efficient Wireless Sensor Network Applied to Greenhouse Cultivation”, both in the form of a poster and a short presentation. It was an extraordinary experience, enriched by meaningful knowledge exchanges. This participation significantly broadened my perspective on the field of computer science as a whole, and the valuable feedback I received regarding my research played a pivotal role in the development of my project.

Shreya Shukla

I am grateful to the ACM-W Scholarship Committee for their generous support towards my travel to the 17th International Conference on Document Analysis and Recognition (ICDAR) 2023 held in San José, California. This was my first conference as an undergraduate student, and it was an invaluable opportunity for me to learn and grow as a researcher. I presented my research work titled “Towards Making Flowchart Images Machine Interpretable” to the ICDAR community. My work was well-received, and I had many stimulating discussions with other researchers and domain experts about the future prospects of this work. In addition to my research presentation, I also attended a number of keynote talks, oral and poster presentations, workshops, and tutorials. These sessions gave me a comprehensive overview of the latest research and future directions in document recognition and reasoning. I also had the invaluable opportunity to network with professors, doctoral students, and industry researchers at the conference. These interactions have given me a deeper understanding of the field and the potential for my own research. It was truly an unforgettable experience and a wonderful opportunity and I am confident that it will have a lasting impact on my career.

Gabriela Vega Lopez

Hello. I’m Gabriela Vega, an electrical engineering undergraduate at the Peruvian University of Applied Science in Peru, attending CHI 2023 in Hamburg was an overwhelming and amazing experience that I will cherish forever. Being my first in-person CHI conference, it exceeded all my expectations and left me with a profound sense of gratitude and inspiration.
My journey in the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) began in 2021, and since then, I have been actively involved in various HCI projects. In 2022, I had the incredible opportunity to intern at the Sensorimotor Interaction Group in Germany. This internship not only provided me with invaluable hands-on experience but also allowed me to collaborate on a research paper that was presented at CHI 2023. The acceptance of our paper for presentation at such a prestigious conference was a significant accomplishment for me.

One of the highlights of my CHI experience was being the recipient of the ACM-Women award. I am immensely grateful for this recognition and the opportunity it provided me to attend the conference. The scholarship not only covered my expenses but also opened doors to incredible opportunities for learning, networking, and personal growth.

The conference itself was a whirlwind of awe-inspiring projects, innovative ideas, and groundbreaking research. From the moment I stepped into the conference venue, I was immersed in a vibrant atmosphere of knowledge exchange and collaboration. The ACM-Women scholarship also provided me with access to the Intro to HCI course, taught by three prestigious professors in the field. This opportunity allowed me to deepen my understanding of HCI principles, methodologies, and emerging trends. It was an enriching experience to learn directly from experts and gain insights that will undoubtedly shape my future endeavors in HCI research.

Throughout the conference, I was exposed to a wide range of areas within HCI that piqued my interest. From AI and haptics to wearables and sustainability, the diversity of projects and topics was staggering. I was particularly fascinated by the intersection of HCI with emerging technologies, as it opened up possibilities for innovative and impactful applications.

In summary, my experience at CHI 2023 was a transformative journey of inspiration and connection. The conference provided a platform for me to engage with the HCI community, and learn from esteemed professionals. I am forever grateful for this opportunity, and it has further solidified my commitment to pursuing a career in HCI research.

Photo: I am the one with a black sweater and with colorful backpack’s straps 🙂

Akshitha Kumbam

My experience, from researching computer networks to finally presenting my work, has been an exciting-bumpy ride. I noticed how my coordination and collaborative skills were enhanced. The zeal to chase my dreams strengthened with the ACM scholarship award. It helped me believe in myself and reminded me of my responsibilities as a woman engineer. I further dream of piquing many young female researchers and promote diversity wherever I go.

Irene Wang

I had the opportunity to attend ISCA 2022 in New York this summer, and I feel very thankful and fortunate for this experience. This was not only my first time attending a conference, but I was also part of the organizing committee for the uArch workshop at the conference.

The uArch workshop aims to introduce undergraduate and early Master’s students to research and career opportunities in the field of computer architecture. This year, uArch was able to fund around 100 students to attend ISCA in person or virtually. The full-day workshop consisted of two keynote sessions, several panels on topics around life in graduate school, and a mentoring session that allowed students to network with professors in the field. As one of the workshop organizers, I am grateful to have been able to attend the workshop in person and connect with the group of amazing students.

In addition, ISCA 2022 was also my first experience attending a scientific conference. I was able to benefit a lot from both the uArch workshop and the main conference sessions. The keynotes and paper sessions at ISCA gave me insights into the state-of-the-art techniques, research interests, and challenges in the field of computer architecture. I also had the chance to connect with professors, graduate students, and professionals working in the industry. Overall, my ISCA experience introduced me to various research topics in the field of computer architecture that I was not familiar with before attending the conference and it helped me gain valuable advice regarding research in general and possible career paths after my undergraduate degree.

I would like to thank ACM-W for giving me the opportunity to attend ISCA this year. It was a truly educational and memorable experience.

Brenda Silva Machado

More than an opportunity to learn more about Evolutionary and Genetic Computing, Gecco’22 provided me with several incredible experiences, contact with other researchers and certainly memories that I will take with me for the rest of my life.

As my first conference on Evolutionary Computing, I had the opportunity to learn more about the work of researchers from different parts of the world and from the most diverse areas of this field of computing, at the same time I was in contact with several of them, learning many new things, not only about computing, but also from the academic world in general.

Being there, in person, I could see how the community is united and welcoming. There was a tendency, during coffee breaks, to introduce yourself to someone new and show interest in that person’s research. I was also able to get in touch with many amazing women (gecco@women is a very nice example), it gave me a lot of inspiration to continue in the academic world. In addition, I met several people from my country who were conducting research in several different countries. All this showed me that it is possible to overcome many obstacles that are placed in our way.

Apart from the academic part of the conference, the opportunity to get to know a unique place like Boston, accompanied by amazing people, contributed to making the whole experience unforgettable. All the organizers’ dedication to making the conference enjoyable for all participants certainly had a positive effect as well. I really hope to be able to attend and present papers in many Gecco in the future.

I am immensely grateful to ACM’W for giving me that opportunity. I certainly left this experience very inspired to continue in the academic area of ​​computing and develop research that can somehow be an inspiration for other young researchers.

Lalitha Kuppa

Attending the 2021 Supercomputing Conference was a wonderful experience that I am delighted to have. As an undergraduate student studying computer science at Virginia Tech, I initially became interested in computer systems and high-performance computing through my undergraduate research efforts with a systems performance analysis project and a heterogeneous memory independent study. Attending the Supercomputing Conference was a dream of mine since my freshman year of college, and it did not disappoint. SC21 was in a hybrid modality, and I was able to attend the conference in downtown St. Louis with the support of the ACM-W scholarship. It was a one-of-a-kind opportunity to talk to other researchers equally fascinated by HPC in academia and industry. I learned about research conducted on an international level and shared my own projects with the people I met through the student volunteer program. The Supercomputing Conference was an inspirational experience, from the educational value to the sheer number of people invested in HPC that I have had the opportunity to meet.

The conference spanned nearly a week and consisted of speaker sessions, panel discussions, poster presentations, an exhibit gala, and much more. The night of the first conference day was the Grand Opening Gala Reception, which showcased the latest HPC and networking innovations in countless exhibits. Companies in attendance included Red Hat, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and IBM. The need for efficient cooling systems and positively impacting the environment were some of the most highly discussed takeaways from the gala. Several exhibits showed their newest technologies that pioneered these topics. For instance, Submer showcased their solutions with liquid immersion cooling technology, in which they submerged components and servers in a dielectric coolant.

Another notable event at the beginning of the conference was the keynote speech. Vint Cerf, one of the fathers of the Internet, delivered the keynote address. He raised intriguing topics and pressing questions in artificial intelligence, particularly in machine learning, and how the humanities play a massive role in the inspiration and motivation of new technology. He discussed projects underway and acknowledged the issues to overcome and steps to achieve in years to come as part of a new era.

As the week went by, I attended countless talks and panels, from the Second International Workshop on Quantum Computing Software to the ACM and IEEE-CS Award Presentations. Some were in the form of presentations for specific research topics, and others were in a more interactive manner where the audience and panelists would go back and forth in the discussion. I was also able to attend diversity talks, such as a presentation about Women in HPC and how to increase inclusivity. I explored various research areas in high-performance computing throughout the week. I expanded my knowledge in both fields that I have previously investigated and completely new areas. I will be ever grateful to ACM-W for being a welcoming community and supporting my conference experience!

Sasha Hussain

I had an amazing experience where I got to learn more about the field of Cybersecurity and network with women who are established in the field. I got to meet fellow undergrads who are continuing to navigate the arena. I got a resume review and career advice, along with internship opportunities.

Hetvi Jethwani

GECCO-2021 was the first conference I’ve ever presented at, and it is an experience I’ll always cherish- I am grateful to the ACM-W Scholarship and Google for enabling me to attend it! In spite of it being online-only, it was a lot of fun.

The talks I attended were very accessible and everyone was receptive to questions and ideas- it helped me learn so much more about evolutionary computation and where the field is headed. I got a chance to interact with brilliant researchers from around the world- asking them about their research work and career trajectory was extremely inspiring! Moreover, as someone who likes to make art herself, I was so happy to attend the tutorial on evolutionary art and design.

I had to present a poster-paper at the conference- honestly I felt very intimidated initially, but had a fantastic time! People asked thought-provoking questions, were super-encouraging, and gave great feedback which will definitely help us improve the scope of our work.

I am so thankful to my advisor, Prof. Sumeet Agarwal (IIT Delhi) for his support, and the ACM-W committee for giving me this formative opportunity.

Mansi Agarwal

The 34th AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence 2020 was an enriching experience. It was my very first conference, and it became all the more special, for I got the golden opportunity to present my two full-length papers and a poster. I was a tad bit nervous considering it was my first formal presentation that, too, in front of the pioneers of Artificial Intelligence. My mentors, Prof Jack Mostow and Prof Rajiv Ratn Shah did their best at keeping my morale high, and I owe all my success to them. After my presentations, I was contacted by a lot of researchers, both in person and over mail. Their questions were interesting and helped me pave a path to the future work of my research. Apart from showcasing my work, I also got the excellent opportunity of attending several talks by great professors like Prof. Kraut from CMU. His talk on affective content analysis was similar to one of my research areas. Moreover, there were several exciting presentations identical to one of my papers on damage assessment through social media. The director of “AI for Social Good” at Google Research India, Milind Tambe, showed great interest in our work, which motivated me further to pursue this field as my career.

Apart from attending the technical talks, I also got the once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet the godfathers of AI, Prof. Geoffrey Hinton and Prof. Yann Lecunn. They had been specially invited as speakers at the conference where they discussed their new papers with all the conference attendees.

AAAI 2020 helped me re-realize why I decided to pursue the field of AI, and I have never felt more motivated and confident. I want to thank the entire team of AAAI for giving me this opportunity, and ACM-W to help me grab it.