Steering STEMinism: Siemens supports diverse engineering talent at the Bath Univ. Wackathon
On the 16th and 17th of March 2024, Bath Women in Tech Society held our biggest event of the year: the Wackathon, a hackathon for women and gender minorities. In a weekend made possible through Siemens’ support, students were challenged to develop technically demanding projects along the theme of “Innovate for Social Good” in just 24 hours.
What is Bath Women in Tech?
Women in Tech is a student-led society at the University of Bath. We aim to empower people from underrepresented genders who aspire to work in tech, with the hope that their voices will one day play a role in shaping the industry’s future. According to EngineeringUK, just 16.5% of engineering roles are occupied by women [1]. While ostensibly bleak, this figure marks a 6.5% increase in female representation in engineering over the past decade. Our society aims to accelerate the narrowing of this gap, with our events ranging from Q&A panels with industry professionals to fundraisers such as the Grace Hopper Space Hopper Race. Our work this year culminated in the Wackathon, an event that Siemens helped us make a reality.
The Big Weekend
Thanks to the overwhelming support of our industry sponsors, this year the event was the biggest it had ever been. An unprecedented 60 women and gender-minority students rose to the challenge of developing a technical solution for a pressing social issue. While teams were given total creative freedom in their choice of project, they were guided by our seven prize tracks. This included the AI and Machine Learning track sponsored by Siemens. The remaining tracks spanned both technical and social themes, such as best UI/UX design and best tool for increasing access to mental health support.
Participants juggled designing and programming their solutions with the opportunity to attend exclusive talks and a networking fair with industry professionals. At the end of the 24-hour development period, participants were then tasked with presenting their solutions in a project showcase. Students bravely battled their sleep deprivation to pitch their ideas to our panel of judges, with projects ranging from an Internet Of Things-powered pill dispenser to harnessing sweat sensors to detect hormone conditions. To view all of our participants’ fantastic projects, see the online Devpost gallery here.
Winners of the Siemens sponsored AI and Machine Learning track
Among these creations was Rise ‘n’ Sign, a live sign language translation tool developed by students Vrushali Ashok, Saron Tewolde and Sasha Sood. The tool’s exciting social impact potential, coupled with its impressive technical complexity given the limited development window, led them to win Siemens’ prize track.
Impacts
We are incredibly grateful for Siemens’ involvement in the event. Thanks to your kind sponsorship, we were able to offer the Wackathon for free to our participants. By minimising the financial barrier to entry, more students than ever could enjoy an inclusive environment to develop their technical skills, with free meals and merchandise also available. On top of this, thanks to Siemens’ Camilla Evans and Diana Fernandes giving up their weekends to support the event, our students had the opportunity to find out what working at the forefront of the digital landscape is like, and explore the different roles available. Finally, we are also grateful for the help of Jane Wade and her encouragement.
We know first-hand that being a gender minority in a male-dominated field is not easy. While events like the Wackathon alone cannot resolve this, we hope it was another step towards building a more inclusive technology sector.
To keep up with the work of Bath Women in Tech, you can follow our Linkedin page here.
