Over 200 participants from Cyprus, Greece, Egypt, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Poland and USA, attended the Womenpower Symposium 2016 that took place at Cyprus University of Technology on the 16th of November. Womenpower is the third seminar of this series, aiming to support and empower women in their professional development in technology related areas. The event was organized by the Cyprus Interaction Lab and the ACM-Women Cyprus, with the support of Fulbright, the Association for Computing Machinery on Women (ACM-W), and the Cyprus Computer Society (CCS).
With an eye to encourage children, teenagers, and adults to choose the exciting opportunities offered in the area of technology and defy stereotypes about the role of women in the digital technology industry, the symposium included three keynote talks, six practical workshops, four short presentations and thirteen poster presentations. The seminar provided an opportunity for dozens of male and female students, young entrepreneurs and professionals to attend practical workshops on developing entrepreneurial skills, creating their CV, preparing for job interviews as well as networking opportunities. The closing of the seminar was entitled “International Perspectives in the User Experience” with keynote speakers women researchers from industry and academia on the occasion of the World Usability Day. Speakers were Sofia Chebanova, Lead User Experience Researcher of Wargaming.net and Darelle van Greunen, professor at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in South Africa.
The women empowerment symposium, Womenpower, is one of the programs through which ACM-Women Cyprus, Fulbright and Association for Computing Machinery on Women (ACM-W), invests in the education of young women in creating a base of future employees ready to confront the challenges of the global economy.