Spotlighting The Kiel Chapter in the ACW-Professional Chapter’s Corner
Written By Asegul Hulus
My name’s Ace, and I am both an investigative journalist and a member of the Professional Chapters Committee.
This year, I will be conducting interviews with each Professional Chapter. We will travel the world and visit each Professional Chapter, and I will be your friendly tour guide. Our tour is fueled by the mission to support, celebrate, and advocate for women in computing.This month we have the wonderful ACM-W Kiel Chapter. Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Chapter leaders Pamela Fleischmann and Annika Huch are leading our tour. Without delay, let us make our way to the “Leadership Corner,” our first stop.
Leadership Corner
“Thousands of kilometers may separate us, but we stand together, breaking barriers for women in computing.” – Pamela, Chapter Leader.
Pamela’s impactful quote aligns with the Kiel Chapter’s goal of supporting female students as they navigate the academic journey, especially during the crucial switch from bachelor’s to master’s programs. With insights from Pamela and Annika, the chapter directly confronts the 80% dropout rate for women in German computer science bachelor programs, a field where women constitute approximately 20% of the student body, significantly fewer than men.
Pamela and Annika’s initiative challenges the prevailing male-centric environment in computer science by prioritizing collaboration instead of competition. They have built an environment that supports women to succeed without experiencing isolation or marginalization. This topic will be the main focus of our next stop in the “monthly highlights.”
Key Achievements
A significant part of the chapter, the Women’s Talk Marathon initiative at Kiel University was developed to confront institutional challenges. A male individual proposed lowering the goal for female participation in the university program from 30% to 12%. Currently, the program has 20% female participation, which prompted this initiative. What started as a declaration against constraining women’s engagement has grown into a striking Women’s Talk Marathon initiative, highlighting 49 speeches across three sections, totaling more than 20 hours. “During this knowledge-sharing marathon, there is a platform where women are not interrupted by men – they must listen,“ Pamela emphasizes
The chapter’s robust leadership empowers meaningful endeavors that we will examine at the next destination on our tour.
Spotlight: Chapter Leadership and Operations Insights
With Pamela and Annika’s dedicated leadership, the chapter has built a strong operational structure that prioritizes establishing secure and encouraging environments for women in the field of computing. The Women’s Café initiative, occurring every two months, acts as an important networking platform for female students and faculty to connect and offer each other support in a competition-free atmosphere.
The leadership team demonstrates resilience as they navigate complex bureaucratic challenges and uphold a diverse program of events. Their efforts include organizing Ada Lovelace Day events and hosting insightful film screenings on gender in technology, demonstrating their commitment to building community and sparking conversations. Their hands-on method of helping individual students highlights the significance of personal support and mentorship in making a difference. For example, The Women’s Talk Marathon initiative has fostered unexpected collaborations, including a particularly inspiring story of a Syrian master’s student who, through the marathon, secured a PhD position and established interdisciplinary research connections with the medical faculty.
The Kiel Chapter’s effect is clear: they’ve learned to turn institutional problems into growth opportunities. A prime example, as detailed under “Key Achievements,” is the Women’s Talk Marathon; it successfully converted a potentially negative proposal into a strong advocate for women, significantly improving their influence and creating lasting change.
While their achievements at present are impressive, the chapter’s vision is heavily influenced by the pioneering women in computing who have set inspiring examples for us at our upcoming stop in the “Wisdom Corner.”
Wisdom Corner
Various role models have influenced the Kiel Chapter’s perspectives on inclusive computing. During our interview, Pamela expressed her admiration for the first woman who studied in Hamburg, whose trailblazing attitude still motivates women in academia who are pushing boundaries. Annika found a role model during her early conference participation, a female professor who arranged exclusive sessions for female attendees to exchange experiences and address queries. This mentorship was especially valuable because there were no female professors in Theoretical Computer Science at Kiel University.
These role models serve as inspiration for the chapter’s innovative initiatives, particularly their creative application of technology to protect historical records. For example, a notable example is their collaboration with historians on an important project involving computer science to transcribe and translate documents from Nazi concentration camps written in old German. This work is vital for preserving important historical information; it also highlights the chapter’s commitment to using technology to bridge the gap between disciplines and safeguard valuable knowledge for posterity. Pamela stresses the need for computer scientists, especially women, for this crucial task because the individuals familiar with old German are no longer available, highlighting the importance of computerized transcription and translation. This project is a prime example of the wide scope of computer science, with collaborations ranging from historical preservation to medicine, highlighting the varied applications and influence of women in the field of computing.
The chapter’s dedication to addressing wider social concerns was evident during a unique auction of items, including contributions from their diverse events and initiatives, held on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, resulting in a collection of €624 for the Kiel Women’s Shelter. By acknowledging the existence of many women outside the academic circle who could use their advocacy and support, this initiative demonstrated a broader perspective on women’s issues.
Building on the influence of these inspiring role models, the chapter is moving forward to create new opportunities and increase their influence at our next stop.
Looking Ahead
The Kiel chapter introduces an original approach to mentorship and support within the community. They prioritize cultivating supportive environments for women to naturally form connections, as opposed to traditional mentoring programs. Pamela believes that the challenge requires more than formal mentoring programs, which tend to offer general support rather than the targeted assistance needed by students, especially females, who are close to dropping out. The challenges facing female students, discussed below, highlight the need for targeted interventions that can identify and support struggling students before they drop out.
The chapter’s experience demonstrates that moving from high school to university comes with its own set of challenges for females. The gender representation in schools may differ significantly from the atmosphere in universities. Pamela vividly explains that female students arrive with confidence in their ability to succeed, but end up feeling like they are in a zoo, where everyone is staring at them and throwing peanuts. This striking depiction of the challenging environment that women often experience in the field of computing emphasizes the critical need to establish safe and supportive spaces for their mission.
In the future, the chapter aims to expand the Women’s Talk Marathon and build stronger ties internationally, by working with other ACM-W Professional Chapters using the ACM-W Chapters Buddy Program. They hope to promote meaningful representation, opposing decreased quota suggestions, and advocating for significant institutional reform.
While the chapter advances towards this ambitious future, they extend an invitation to others to come along on their mission at our last stop.
Call to Action
“Anything we do to empower women, no matter how small or how big is important.” – A comment from Ace, Pamela, and Annika on this tour.
Every action is significant in shaping a more inclusive computing community, as highlighted by the Kiel Chapter. Whether you’re a student experiencing isolation in your program, a professional wanting to mentor others, or enthusiastic about shattering barriers in computing, know that there are others like you. As Pamela emphasizes, “The feeling that we are not alone, that there are others, and that we fight together…this helps.”
The chapter demonstrates that connection is the starting point for change. Participating in a Women’s Café, joining a Talk Marathon, or connecting with another woman in the field of computing can lead to transformative changes in our industry. This chapter and ACM-W specifically urge individuals facing silent struggles to seek support – you do not have to face these challenges by yourself. Achieving this is possible through:
- Connect with chapter leaders to join the activities they are organizing.
- Build your own ACM-W Professional Chapter; Ace is available to support you in the process.
- Share with us your own stories and experiences.
- Find ways to collaborate with ACM-W, for example, through our Professional Chapters Committee (where Ace is involved).
Everyone can be a source of encouragement and agent of change in their computing community!
As the tour is wrapping up, I would like to gift you a souvenir, an infographic of the tour, along with contact details for the Kiel Chapter leaders and their Women and myself including the ACM-W Chapters Buddy Program .
Contact Information for Kiel Chapter Leaders and Women’s Talk Marathon 2025 :
- Pamela Fleischmann (fpa@informatik.uni-kiel.de)
Pamela earned her master’s degree in computer science in 2017 and her PhD in 2021. Her research is on Combinatorics of Words, a mathematical field within theoretical computer science. Pamela currently works at Kiel University, supervising new and international students. She’s also been the Department of Computer Science’s Vice Equal Opportunity Commissioner since 2020.
- Annika Huch (ahu@informatik.uni-kiel.de)
Annika earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Computer Science from Kiel University, beginning her studies in 2018. She’s been working toward a PhD in theoretical computer science since 2022, and also teaches tutorials for the “Computation and Logics” lecture. Her research is in the theoretical computer science field of Combinatorics on Words.
- Women’s Talk Marathon 2025
(https://www.frauenvortragsmarathon.uni-kiel.de/?year=2025&lang=en)
On March 7, 2025, the women of Kiel University will present their work for the fourth time, ahead of International Women’s Day. This event highlights the contributions of women across various disciplines, from students to professors, showcasing research and projects from multiple faculties, including:
- English Department (Faculty of Arts and Humanities)
- Computer Science (Faculty of Engineering)
- European Ethnology/Folklore Studies (Faculty of Arts and Humanities)
- Business and Tax Law (Faculty of Law)
- Organic Chemistry (Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences)
- Political Sciences (Faculty of Arts and Humanities)
- Romance Studies (Faculty of Arts and Humanities)
- Service Center for Human Resources (University Administration)
This day not only celebrates women’s work at the university but also raises awareness of ongoing challenges such as low enrollment, high drop-out rates, and the glass ceiling. The event aims to inspire students, researchers, and academics to pursue their goals while fostering networking and potential collaborations.
Contact Information for Ace and ACM-W Chapters Buddy Program
- Ace (asegulhulus@outlook.com)
- Ace’s LinkedIn: (www.linkedin.com/in/asegulhulus)
- ACM-W Chapters Buddy Program (https://women.acm.org/chapters/buddy-chapters/)
Until our next Professional Chapter tour, this is Ace, your friendly tour guide, signing off!