Spotlighting the ACM-W BITS Pilani (Dubai Campus) Student Chapter
Building Community Through Technical Excellence and Empowerment
By Asegul “Ace” Hulus
Welcome back to the global ACM-W Chapter Tour! We are visiting the ACM-W BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus (BPDC) Student Chapter in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) today, a lively community where technical expertise and impactful mentorship go together. This chapter’s cohesive blend of experiential learning opportunities, structured mentor guidance, and outreach initiatives helps disseminate computing education beyond the university and into schools throughout the area.
From Handful to Hundred: An Evolving Mission
Founded in 2019, the ACM-W BPDC Student Chapter initially comprised a small group of students, supported by Dr Sujala D. Shetty as their faculty sponsor. Today, it’s a thriving community of over 100 active members. The mission centers on bridging the gap between academic learning and real-world impact through technical growth, leadership development, mentorship, and networking. What began as efforts to promote participation and awareness has developed into a comprehensive approach that includes actively empowering leadership, providing research exposure, ensuring industry readiness, and facilitating community outreach. The chapter supports equally technical proficiency and soft skills, empowering women to excel and lead in computing disciplines.
Voices of Leadership
From the start, the ACM-W BPDC Student Chapter was guided by Dr Sujala D. Shetty’s visionary leadership. Reflecting on the journey, she shares:
“It gives me great pride to see the progress and involvement of the ACM-W student chapter at BITS Pilani Dubai Campus. Over the years I have seen steady progress in terms of both the quality and the quantity of the events that we have been able to conduct. We have seen a very active participation of female students in the club. This is one of the two only female clubs that we have in the institution. It is a great platform to give a voice to all the young girls in tech. I am very proud of the fact that when I founded the ACM-W way back in 2019, we barely had a handful of girls on board. Now we are a team of over 100+ very active members.”
Aimy Acksa Shaji, Chair of the 22-member council, is a senior engineering undergraduate with a broad range of interests, including machine learning and cybersecurity. Her involvement with ACM-W started during her inaugural year, advancing from Creative Executive to her present leadership position. She reflects:
“ACM-W gave me the confidence to lead, the space to grow, and the responsibility to uplift others. I have been an active member of the ACM and ACM-W community since my first year of college, and looking back, the journey has been truly transformative. Through hands-on workshops, technical competitions, and collaborative initiatives, the chapter continuously challenged me to expand my skill set while nurturing my curiosity for computing. Today, leading a team of 22 passionate and driven women in computer science is both humbling and inspiring.”
Co-Chair Sanya Talwar, who focuses on artificial intelligence and scalable systems, captures the essence of the ACM-W BPDC Student Chapter in a single sentence: “At ACM-W, we build a community rooted in empathy, collaboration and the courage to try.” Vice Chair Sharon Sujan strengthens the core leadership team through her expertise in AI and web development.
The council’s operations are structured around six collaborative teams: Core Council, Membership, Creative, Marketing, Technical, Events, and DevOps, with the following individuals involved: Kaveri Pathak, Joanna Aldrin, Michelle Moses, Ahana Shetty, Sandra Sajeev, Akamksha Ranil, Bhoomika Singh, Katlyn Linsey, Shambhavi Jha, Mariah Shania, Varinikka T. M., Darshitha Gollapalli, Vitasta Verma, Aarushi Kothari, Shreiya Muthuvelan, Ramsha Mariam Ansari, Sivangi Bipin, Saakhee Madnani, and Shreya Raj.
Three Pillars of Impact
Three pivotal programs, established by the ACM-W BPDC Student Chapter in 2020 and currently active, illustrate its operational structure. The Junior Mentorship Program (JuMP) facilitates structured collaborations, enabling junior students to partner with senior students on technical and research-oriented projects. Beyond conventional mentorship, this program offers immersive learning experiences that enable participants to collaboratively address real-world issues, leading to a sustained record of successful project completion and the accumulation of practical experience for junior participants.
ConnectED facilitates interactive sessions with chapter alumni, offering career guidance, industry exposure, and networking prospects. Through these interactions, the divide between academic instruction and professional engagement narrows, giving students a better understanding of the multifaceted career paths available in computing.
Within the EMPOWER initiative, participants engage with students in educational settings to impart knowledge of technology, fundamental computer skills, and potential STEM careers. There is a distinct focus on stimulating interest among young women for STEM-related subjects. Introducing computing concepts at an early stage cultivates a pipeline of future women technologists. The program’s influence extends beyond the university, having positively impacted over 400 girls and underrepresented learners in the past year.
Examples from the Three Pillars of Impact
The ACM-W BPDC Student Chapter effectively combines technical expertise with community engagement by conducting practical workshops focused on artificial intelligence, machine learning, web development, and open-source contributions. Structured workshops are enhanced by hackathons, ideathons, and coding challenges that focus on solving practical problems. This dynamic, student-driven organization prioritizes ongoing cooperation not only internally within ACM-W but also with ACM and various other technical and creative campus organizations.
Growing Impact, Tangible Results
The numbers tell only part of the story. The ACM-W BPDC Student Chapter has experienced substantial growth in its membership across technical, leadership, and creative capacities, and its large-scale events now attract more than 450 students each year. However, the more profound effects are evident in the participants’ transformation. Individuals engaged in outreach initiatives often show marked improvements in communication, confidence, and leadership as they support novice learners, highlighting the transformative learning potential of the mentoring experience. An alumna has successfully launched a flourishing enterprise and now serves as an exemplar for present members, illustrating the enduring influence of the chapter’s initiatives. The ACM-W BPDC Student Chapter’s supportive and collaborative atmosphere is frequently praised by its members. Participants value the secure learning environment, which is designed to accommodate a wide range of backgrounds and individual learning speeds. Testimonials often highlight the beneficial aspects of the nurturing and cooperative setting, noting the value of an inclusive educational space that respects varied experiences and personalized learning trajectories. Many report increased confidence in both technical and leadership roles.
Mentorship: Where Growth Takes Root
Mentorship within the ACM-W BPDC Student Chapter is facilitated by continuous engagement with senior members, who offer direction on technical discourse, event planning, and introspective development. What makes this particularly impactful is the context: mentors observe that introducing learners to emerging technologies cultivates a greater sense of responsibility and empathy in them, thereby nurturing more meaningful connections.
The chapter’s primary objective is to foster learning through conceptual understanding and introspection, rather than by following transient trends. The sessions prioritize a deep grasp of concepts rather than costly instruments, thereby enhancing accessibility. Reflection, the articulation of thought processes, and the enhancement of reasoning skills are strongly recommended for members as fundamental aspects of their technical progression. Individuals often point to luminaries such as Ada Lovelace, celebrated for her fusion of analytical reasoning and creative foresight, and Dr. Sudha Murthy, recognized for embodying the harmonious interplay of technological proficiency and civic duty.
Learning Through Challenges
Coordinating extensive events alongside academic obligations and accommodating a wide range of proficiencies presented considerable difficulties. The leadership team managed this by clearly delegating responsibilities to well-defined sub-teams, establishing structured planning timelines, and ensuring transparent communication. Operational excellence was achieved concurrently with sustained high levels of member participation and positive morale. This outcome underscores a crucial realization: the chapter’s achievements are a direct result of the continuous dedication and authentic engagement of its team members, who work harmoniously towards common objectives.
Values in Action
The operational framework of the ACM-W BPDC Student Chapter is based on clearly defined principles. The opportunity is open to students regardless of background, gender, or field of study. Events are curated to be approachable for newcomers and participants of varying abilities, prioritizing a curious mindset and consistent effort over prior experience, as demonstrated by events such as the recent NVIDIA RAG Workshop and the Operation Hawkins Treasure Hunt.
Opportunities for leadership and volunteer work are allocated through open selection methods, providing impartial access to participation and career progression. Sustainability is achieved through dedicated work, not sporadic grand gestures; digital record-keeping and reduced resource depletion are paramount. Within the chapter, respectful dialogue and a constructive environment are preserved, with a focus on camaraderie, ethical governance, and mutual esteem. Open communication and shared responsibility enable sustaining equity, transparency, and collective well-being.
Looking Ahead and Beyond the Numbers
The ACM-W BPDC Student Chapter’s strategic objectives for advancement focus on fostering inspiration, visibility, and professional growth within the community. This includes enhancing mentorship initiatives and collaborative learning groups, as well as creating meaningful opportunities for professional interaction through presentations and discussions with guest speakers, such as the ConnectED session featuring Niyati Parameswaran from Google CoreML, which demonstrated how applied research can translate into real-world impact. She shared practical technical insights alongside nostalgic university experiences, and the session left participants motivated and informed.
Alongside these engagement-driven initiatives, the Chapter also prioritizes sustained operational impact. This includes encouraging involvement in research and international ACM endeavors, supporting the recognition of female leaders in the technology sector, and maintaining a structured knowledge base to ensure continuity and long-term effectiveness across successive leadership teams.
While established programs such as JuMP, ConnectED, and EMPOWER will continue, the chapter plans to introduce novel, practical workshops centred on cutting-edge technologies, run hackathons dedicated to addressing tangible challenges, and work more closely with other ACM and ACM-W chapters in the UAE and adjacent nations. The chapter’s contributions and reach extend beyond its current membership. ACM-W BPDC Student Chapter cultivates a more inclusive technological environment by empowering women in technology, encouraging students toward computing and innovation careers, and promoting awareness of emerging technologies and ethical technological practices. For example, the Chapter has organized gamified outreach initiatives such as the “Tech Taboo” activity at BITS Techfest 2025, where school students engaged in fast-paced technology-themed challenges, as well as STEAM Day sessions that introduced high school students to AI-generated riddles and coding puzzles to foster curiosity and problem-solving skills.
BITS Techfest 2025 and STEAM Day
These programs are sustained through active community participation. Individuals may contribute by becoming members of the council to orchestrate events and initiatives, engaging in workshops and mentorship opportunities, or volunteering for outreach endeavors.
Final Thoughts
The ACM-W BPDC Student Chapter exemplifies dedication, strategic program planning, and sincere concern for community advancement, which yield meaningful and enduring outcomes. The chapter demonstrates that technology education, with a focus on technical proficiency, guided mentorship, and community engagement, fosters inclusive and empowering environments in which learners can develop confidence and competence. ACM-W BPDC’s ongoing growth and expanded influence establish it as an exemplary model, demonstrating the profound impact student chapters can have on both individual professional trajectories and broader community development. The infographic below provides a concise overview of ACM-W BPDC’s inspiring journey, followed by contact information for the ACM-W BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus Student Chapter and the ACM-W Chapters Committee.
Connect with ACM-W BPDC Student Chapter:
- Website: https://www.acm-wbpdc.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acmw.bpdc/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/acmw-bpdc/
- Email: acm-w@dubai.bits-pilani.ac.in
Connect with ACM-W chapters and the series editor, Asegul “Ace” Hulus:
Email: acmw-chapters@acm.org
Link in bio: https://linkin.bio/acmwomen/
Looking forward to seeing you all on the next tour! Your friendly guide is signing off.