 Well, I have the top of the hour. So let's begin. I'd like to welcome everybody. Welcome to the Future Trends Forum I'm delighted to see you all here today We have a great guest on an important topic and we have so much to talk about Donna White is an extraordinary person. She's the director of a great outfit in the Washington, DC area a collaboration between the nonprofit and a few different universities Breakthrough Tech DC aims to help women and underrepresented minorities Get more access to technology training and practice These are all populations that tend to be underrepresented in technology specifically digital technology And all this group does is focus on reversing the underrepresentation It's a great project and we'd love to hear more about it Especially what tells us about higher education so that any further ado, let me just welcome director donna white Hello Good afternoon, Brian. Whoa, you got a little scratchy on your on your audio there. Can you speak again? Good afternoon Yeah, um, there's a little kind of buzz um on on the word. I don't know if you can hear it Can can you quickly turn your mic off and on again? Sure Sorry about that. It's um, okay. It's off And speak again Hello, uh, it's still kind of funny thing. Okay Try it again Does that work better? Whoa, it really does. Okay. Oh man, that's a completely wiped this all that was Whatever was causing that buzz that was in your ears and you got rid of it. Thank you. Thank you Well, welcome, um director white. I'm so glad to see you. Um, and your work is so important Let me just ask To introduce you to people. Uh, we have a custom here. We ask people to introduce themselves by talking about what they're doing for the next year So i'm curious. What are you going to be working on? Uh at breakthrough or elsewhere? What are the big topics and the big projects that are really uppermost in your mind? Wonderful. Um, so thank you again for having me and thank you to all the Those who are listening in and watching. Um, and please call me donna Um breakthrough tech, uh is an organization that started in new york And um, we expanded into dc in 2021 and so one of the things that i'm always looking to increase, um, especially as we're looking at, um, statistics So for example, the bureau of labor statistics projects that employment and computer and information technology occupations is projected to grow by 13 percent between 2020 and 2030 so one of the things that i am credited for doing or um, it is important for me to do is to work with the two partner universities entity university of maryland college park as well as george mason university to continue to focus on interventions, um for a critically important population and that's diverse group of college women As well i'm working to with pretty esteemed colleagues across those two universities To really break down barriers that keep diverse women from studying and working in tech And as well, um, it's important to be able to work across sectors So i'm just one person but um because of the fabulous teams that i work with in computer science and information sciences at the two universities We work along with industry To ensure that we have opportunities and that we're supporting Students who are embarking on computer science and information sciences majors So really i am working to ensure that we are creating these supports and make it making sure that the sectors Are preparing those students for a future post graduation Wow, that's a tremendous amount of of work. Um, I I have to ask what are some of the supports that Is that financial is that mental health is that networking opportunities? How does that work? So one of the things that um with breakthrough tech, um, we focus on three key areas We call them called them our three C so curriculum That means that we are looking at ways to really be able to expand access Um in introductory community computer science classes So that we are increasing the number of majors in that field We're also looking at career preparation and experiential learning So we want to ensure that we're providing Opportunities for students, especially early in their career their college career To be able to gain the credentials that are Necessary for them to have additional opportunities like summer internships and then we hope Then full-time higher and then the third C would be around community building So we're really looking at how do we grow community? We understand that whatever field you're in whatever work you're doing that, um, A sense of community is important and especially with perseverance And so we want to make sure that we have that community whether it's within that institution or across all breakthrough tech sites We want to make sure that they understand who is there to support them Both on the student side as well as with the industry professionals I say so hit a curriculum credentials and also community That's a that's a whole range of support Friends just just to let you know I've got a couple of quick questions to ask But the forum is here for you. This is your place to ask questions Um, and we are really grateful to hear any questions you have or comments or suggestions or Further questions. Um, this is your place. So please just go to the bottom of your screen and click the raised hand If you want to be up here, uh, I promise people without a lot of hair are as welcome as Donna and I And or just type in the q&a box and we'd love to hear your thoughts In fact, even before I can finish saying that Donna Donnie Sablebach, um in the in the chat said this is such an important topic Those of us here need to share out this session to others Glad to hear it. Donnie. Please just, you know, take the link and fling it on linkedin and facebook Twitter and elsewhere We you know the more people the more conversation the better um One question I have is Are you working primarily with college students who are undergrads? Or are you also working in primary and secondary schools? Are you working with just people who aren't enrolled but are interested in technology? I mean, who's your primary constituency? Um, our primary constituency is uh, our undergrads So we recognize the importance of all programming For me, I'm not a traditional. I'm not an academic. So I come from a program background nonprofits specifically and Because of that I understand What is needed for those programs and those supports to be able to support students through the k-12 process With breakthrough tech. We are primary. We are focused on undergraduates Because we recognize that that is the really the first point for them to be able to gain One because they are now declaring a major and that's where their academic focus will be for that time But as well being able to provide them with those real life experiences like an internship And that can't it usually doesn't happen until they get to college We do recognize that there are opportunities earlier For some students, but we also recognize that once they get to college Those are where a lot of those opportunities are created One thing that I did want to point out about breakthrough tech is that we specifically focus on large public universities And we specifically focus in on that target audience Because we recognize that in some instances it is a barrier for Recruitment from some companies They may tend to go to the same universities typically private universities with a very high reputation of being able to To have graduates that then are fed into the career tech pipeline And so some of those opportunities may not always be extended to public universities And so we want to make sure that we are focusing in an area where we are creating this additional opportunity for students Who may not have it? That's a great point. I can see your nonprofit background at work in that kind of strategy. That's excellent And welcome to people who just crashed in the door. I'm glad to see you folks like philip and lee Hello, christina charles and julia speaking of charles. He has a question a good clarifying question Um, whoops hang on one second. Let me bring this up If I press the right button and I can remember how to type who are the underrepresented gender identity age family background or what? All of them are represent under represented. Uh, so we say women non-binary first generation students Students who may identify from a non-traditional ethnic and racial Category that are in tech careers. So I do want to make sure that we are delineating It's those who those students who may not traditionally Have a job in a tech. So those who are represented in tech careers But it's anyone um because we are working in um institutions We know that anyone may have barriers to their work. So while our focus is on women We don't discourage anyone. Um that may identify from Gender that may not be women or non-binary. Um, and if they are first generation We want to make sure that all students have access to our programming Very good. Um, thank you for the question charles. Um, and thank you for that clear answer Donna and if you're if you're new to the forum, that's an example of a q&a box So, uh, just type in a question like charles's and you can see all flashing the screen for everybody And now that i'm demonstrating shindig for those who are new to it. Let me bring up another person in this case It's a wonderful Uh former student of mine at russian university jordan davis. Let me bring him up on stage Hello, sir. Good to see you Hey, bryan. Good to see you as well. Hello. Donna. Can you all hear me? Okay? Yes. How are you? Okay, great. Um, first and foremost donna. Thank you so much for your work as as others have said in the chat so far The work that you're doing is so important and um As the first black man in the history of my program, which is the learning design and technology program That bryan teaches in i've been thinking about issues of inclusivity and justice a lot within education technology and What i'm finding is that i actually did a research project for my learning analytics course last semester and i found that a lot of Learning analytics programs and education technology programs in general like you said are concentrated at these predominantly white private institutions, so like what would it take in order to Encourage more of these programs start-up So having more learning analytics programs more education technology programs at historically black colleges You know like howard like hampton like more house, etc So that like you're saying more students who are going to these more racially diverse institutions have actual access to these programs Uh, great question. Thank you and congratulations and being the first I hope that you will not be the last and we'll recruit others um I think one of the things that we always find especially in these type programs is that money and funding is essential and it's really the the foundation of any type of program that we're trying to replicate Um with breakthrough tech we have been fortunate to have Some seed funding from a couple of funders who support our work And so that is how we have been able to we started in new york At cuny we expanded to chicago at uic Then came dc at university of maryland and george mason and then we recently announced Expanding and this is for our computing program at fiu So one of the things that we're hoping Is that eventually we are Creating a buzz We are also showing We'll have the data to show that we are creating change Within this area and then we will have funders who will be able to support Creating more programs like we're doing we're hoping that Breakthrough tech will be a model that we could utilize and replicate in other institutions And even in the cities where we're working we're already thinking amongst ourselves internally to decide How do we engage more of the colleges and universities who are in these cities where we're currently working so that we can be able to partner with i'm in dc so with howard and With buoy state and morgan and any of the other universities that may not have access to this So i think it really is funding and money But as well one of the things that is a key component of the work that we do Is cross collaboration so we do it We're a nonprofit organization breakthrough tech is a nonprofit organization But we partner with higher ed so it's important that we get buy-in from the university Sector but we also need industry engagement So they can industry can engage and provide funding But we also need them to create opportunities and provide support for some of the programs that we're doing Where for example our sprint internships program, which is a micro internship program Being able to get more companies to host Our students to go through that program which provides them with that resume credential then That they can then take and hopefully get into other summer internship programs So it's it takes funding Definitely, but it really takes um, I hate to use the cliche of it takes a village But it really does take a lot of different pieces To really combine and to work together to ensure that we're providing these opportunities Yeah, thank you so much donna many follow up questions and just other thoughts, but i'm gonna hit you on link then I got you Thank you so much. Thanks ryan appreciate it. Thank you, jordan. Thank you Again, so if you're new to the forum, that's an example of a video question Pretty obviously here. Let me change the display a bit make things a little A little more spread out a little more comfortable. Um, thank you for that question and donna just you're describing what sounds like a What will become a nationwide movement? If you if you keep doing this are you going to keep focusing on public universities Or are you going to expand to private ones as well? So I think for our computing side, so I want to make sure I'm getting something right between our program So we have our computing which i'm a part of and we focus on Um, undergrads who are pursuing a computer science or an information sciences. Um, which is a zip code 11 Um designation for all of our academics that may be on the call We also expanded um in on the ai side and that ai program is focused on Access uh differently Um, and with that model, um, we are really it was developed with industry leaders Um, and it's a really a free program that teaches students the skills to build ai solutions and real real world conditions So it's a combination of coaching and mentoring and internship and then we hope placement uh to really launch their careers with that program Again, we started in new york in the greater new york area, but we recently announced that we're expanding to boston Uh at it and then la uh uc la so That is a another um component that we're introducing um to the the list of activities that we have to be able to support students Very good. Thank you. Thank you I'm glad to see that in boston too Friends, this is uh your space for your questions to follow up So, please don't let me monopolize the mic. Uh, the this is your environment And uh, we already have a question from dean uh ron freedman at the purview of fort wane We put that on the screen. What role does faculty play at the partner institutions? That's a great question. Um faculty are essential to our work Um at each of our sites, um, we have a site lead As well and the site lead is usually the program person who will manage The work that's being done, but we also have faculty lead And the faculty lead is really essential for helping to bridge the work that we're doing. Um That person does a lot with helping faculty to understand the work that's happening Helping faculty to think about how they are delivering um in teaching their classes How they're recruiting students for research What type of curriculum innovations may be involved in the work? Um, so one of the things that we Want to make sure is that yes in some instances we have students who come in to college They're accepted into the computer science program. They know exactly what they want to do But we do have some students who may Enter undecided or they may decide that they want to change majors So we want to make sure that we are creating an environment that if it's someone who Is is undeclared or um is in In the program, we want to make sure that the curriculum matches the students and so Faculty is very important there. We also ensure that as part of the grant that um, Money is built into the program to be able to support faculty and being able to um Engage in some of these innovations. So whether it's changing the curriculum, um, especially first and second year curriculum um Or it could be something where they have a summer research institute We want to make sure that faculty is um at the forefront of the work that we're doing because it's important Not just if they were doing this program, but that students are going to the program They're declaring the major and they have the support from the time that they declare a major to the time that they graduate And faculty is this is is essential to them That's that's a great great answer. Uh ron. Uh, I if you'd like to uh, uh follow up Please, uh, you know your race. Click the raised hand and join us on stage or type in another question note Um, that's a very very detailed, uh outline. Thank you for the question and again dawn. That's a great answer um, and hello to venessa who has just come in and uh In in the chat, uh, donna, I don't know if you've if you've seen this like I'll share it afterwards john hollandbeck shared a paper from 1990 By the great sherry turkle and uh, seamar patbert But epistemological pluralism in computer science and john pointed out this is a great article about women's voices And the problem remains So if you haven't had I'll I'll copy the So you can see it Thank you And we have still more questions coming up and jordan has a great follow And jordan, I think I'm just gonna have to have you on stage for a while Jordan said what breakthrough is pitched to potential donors? The donors see this as philanthropic or do they see it as being a crucial and beneficial intervention for diversity in the field? We're hoping. Um, I'm gonna answer the last question first. Uh, we're hoping that they see it. Um Both ways. So we want, um industry to be engaged at all Parts of this evolution So we want them to support the work that we're doing and be able to provide the opportunities To be able to do the work. Um, and so at minimum Providing the infrastructure for us to be able to continue to to run our organization But the second piece is that we want industry to understand that as early in the process the academic process that they can Engage with students They can also use this to convert these students into their full-time hires And so we want them to be able to see how beneficial an internship is to the students first of all Um, and for the diversity of students who may not come from the traditional universities where large companies tend to first recruit So they can see the potential of these students that we have great students at all of our universities and they Deserve to be showcased and this is a way for us to do it But for the companies we want them to see that this is their future. Um, these are their future hires And so by supporting our program Philanthropically, they are supporting the future Because they are providing this program. They're supporting These amazing universities and institutions that are supporting the work that we're doing But we're hoping that they will see The return on investment that they are able to then have these students once they graduate to then become their their future workforce And one of the things that I want to mention about our sprint internships Um, as I mentioned, it is a micro internship. So it's very it's a very interesting Uh setup It is three weeks that the students are working in these companies and the companies develop A challenge project and we don't want these students to just go in and say, oh, I'm pushing some paper around for three weeks Or you know, if it's something um, it's grunt work It's something that someone else doesn't want to do that we have these students to do it We want the companies to really think through a project that one um, may be Essential to the work that they're doing or it may be a project that they have not been able to Have their workforce to be able to prioritize and they may be able to have A set of students who can at least start some work. They can do the research Maybe provide some insight and then take that and be able to utilize it in the larger organization Again, we're hoping that they will provide that the companies will see it as a much larger return on investment Not just giving money To the the effort but as well being able to contribute to a diverse workforce And that's what we hope that they will see as really the biggest return on um, the support that they offer Well, again, that's uh, that's a very powerful nonprofit strategy and jordan Thank you for that great great limiting question and donna would have would have really rich answer um, I of course Inherently support you in uh, having this as a future investment a future forward investment. Thank you Uh, we had a quick note, uh in the chat um from uh, donnie senelbach Again, who says, um, I worked at a small liberal arts college recent position searches have been disappointing in terms of diversity of applicants Have been thinking lately about how it's upon us to provide mentoring to our own students to make it more diverse for the future as a staff member And there wasn't there wasn't a question there, but I wanted to share that comment Um, and donna did you want to do you want to speak to that or are Just let it stand I will say I I agree wholeheartedly. Um, I think that it's important to think about How we're approaching it and I hope that it's a conversation that's being had not just in higher ed, but um within curriculum Um, so how are you getting and retaining students? And how does that then translate into the workforce? And so I'm hoping it's a Comment and a desire that is not just resonating with a few people But it's really resonating with this everyone whether it's industry academia or any other Entity that may be hiring for the future Oh, thank you, donnie, uh for sharing that Donnie's an awesome person And uh, donna, thank you for the it's gonna be hard to say donnie and donna It's it's really good to uh to hear that response Speaking of curriculum. We have another question from uh, john hollandbeck Who wanted you to develop one point? interested more in curriculum matching the student Computing and structural design are historically white male fields that do not account for other voices Can it become pluralistic? So how can you match the curriculum with the student? I guess this is another way of putting it So I can my answer would be purely anecdotal because I am not coming from Um an academic background. However, I feel like it can um, I know that there are um professors all across the country who um are really focusing in on D. E. I as a part of curriculum innovations And so I think that it's important if there is The desire and the mindset to be able to make um curriculum More inclusive than I think that it can be done Um, I think that it is very important because we do see that Some students once they get into a program Um, just depend in the the background can vary They may not have had the exposure through the curriculum or certain areas in their K-12 And so as a result of that when they get to college then it may be a culture shock and in culture shock in terms of academia And what they are seeing there So I think it's important to if we are if we're all saying that it's important to have students engaged And to ensure that we are providing as much support in terms of the curriculum throughout a college career Then I think it's important for it to become pluralistic And I think that it's important for those who have the the will and Um, most importantly the opportunity To provide these innovations. I think I know that they're um It All academia is political So it really depends on Um, the faculty whether there's a faculty senate and how things are agreed upon and How things are pushed through But I think that if we all make an effort um to say that this is important that it can change Well, that's Thank you. That really goes really deeply into this question. John. Thank you for the clarifying question Um, we have more questions coming up and uh, I want to welcome my friends from upstate new york Ellen you who is the chief information officer at union college And she asks our institution is also focusing on women in computer science by focusing on hiring women faculty Does your program help universities to hire diverse faculty in computer science departments? Great question. Um And great work ellen. I support you wholeheartedly and and what you're doing. Um, our program does not directly Support the hiring of faculty. However, um, we are hoping that one of the things that each of the universities with whom we work develop a strategic plan on how they're going to achieve their goals and increasing the number of women that are graduating With these degrees and so as a result of that we recognize that there are some things that will That have been shown to support More women either entering the major Staying meaning retaining them and then graduating Women faculty is an area that statistics show Will help women um who embark on that major to persevere? And so we want to make sure that we are offering support again We do as part of our um the funding It can be used for faculty grants. So faculty grants is not going to fund Um a faculty position. However, it may support efforts by the faculty or by the dean to be able to do some things to um Maybe make it more attractive to um come to this university To support the work or they may be able to use some other funding To be able to support again summer research So there are some small things that we do but we don't directly Work with recruiting diverse faculty Well, that's a that's a great direct answer and also a really good Deepening of our understanding of how of how your enterprise works Thank you Ellen and and please say hi to my union friends there We also have a follow-up question from Jordan and Jordan I may just put you up on stage if I'm just going to do that now because because you are so good And I want to give you a chance to to shine So we can bring you up here Jordan has a question of curriculum development and about learning designers and you can phrase that better than I can Jordan Why don't you cut loose? Well, well, thank you Brian. Um, I appreciate the time and then yeah, the my question was mainly centered around how Well, I wanted you to speak more about the curriculum development aspect of what the breakthrough does like Do you will have learning designers on your staff or like do you? you know ask Individual like learning designers and like other places to come in and kind of hold and then also Are the learning designers mostly designing like the the internships and the sprinterships and the high impact practices or do they also have a hand in Developing like the the more formal like academic programs at these institutions Thank you for the question So I think one of the things the question was asked earlier about what is the role of faculty? Um in our work and that's where our faculty person comes in to play our faculty lead At each of the universities they really work internally with Their colleagues to really decide what type of innovations they want to have in the curriculum and so it is developed in house Which is I think the better way to do it At least in the instances that I'm aware of as relates to breakthrough tech That is the best way so far that it has worked because The faculty that's there understands the students and understands the history of the work that has been done there Understand general ed requirements And then also understand how all of the different pieces of the curriculum play into creating The major and ensuring that students are getting the well-rounded Education that they need to graduate So I think it is essential to be able to work within the compliance of the university And be able to utilize the immense talent that is already there For example, we I spoke about the strategic plan that each university does One of the things that they they do is they look at their curriculum and find ways especially in the introductory courses And one how to retain students so if their students are already declared majors in that area What are some ways that we can ensure that students are retained? They're looking at Year over year data to determine. Okay, this particular course may Be a challenge for students and being able to to Stay in that program And so what innovations can we now incorporate to ensure that we are providing an opportunity for more students to Persevere through the major the other is how can we then make a course attractive? To a student who may be a non cs or is major So what introductory course can we now? If it is possible make a gen ed course so that they understand this is a computer science course They can learn more about computer science and may peak an interest of a non declared major To say oh, maybe i'm now interested in computer science and information sciences So it's important to really utilize the talent of your existing faculty to be able to create Those innovations and figure out where there are opportunities to be able to grow it So we to answer your question We look internally at the university to make those changes But who knows what may happen down the line with external developers Got it yet. I definitely answered my question. Yeah. Thank you for that. Okay Jordan can I keep you on stage for a bit more? Sure. Yeah, that's fine Yeah Well, I just know you're passionate about this and you know a lot and and I want to make sure that We get to pick your brain as much as we can too Donna, thank you It's I'm just struck by how complex your project is how many moving parts and how many connections you have to make That's that's a lot going on Friends we're we're coming close to the end So this is the time to share your thoughts and questions. So again hit the raised hand button If you want to join us on stage We can have up to six people here at a time. I think so there's plenty of room Or a question or answer We did have a nice comment from Vanessa Vale who says as someone who was a female math major at a deep south university circa 1961 I can't identify about support and attitudes too And uh, Charles Finley and John Hollenbeck follow up by noting that faculty are not often learning designers And the importance of personalized learning environments Um, I had one question for you Donna. Well, everybody else is thinking really hard. Um I'm trying to imagine what would happen if breakthrough Takes over the world right if if you if you if you spread and spread and spread because there's so much interest in You're doing such good work. Um, what would a college or university look like and say 10 years of all of this? Um, you know, what what kind of impact or do we see a a truly multi cultural multi ethnic Multiracial student body. Would we see the support staff have changed as well and also the faculty? I hope so, um You know, I I hope that that is the goal Um, I'm hoping that we will be able to see um, the trends in Higher ed translate into the workforce as well I think it's important to understand how we We meaning breakthrough tech see the synergy between industry and academia and the importance of one of both, um to the success of students And so we don't not only want to see students to graduate and then get into the tech field But we're hoping that they'll stay. Um, so we do recognize if we're looking 10 years down the line We do recognize that, um, there are some Barriers now that exist where even if we we think students are prepared and they graduate and they go into a tech company Um for some diverse candidates, they may not stay for an extended period of time So I think it's important to look at all of the again with supports that are happening I'll there an undergrad but as well into the workforce. And so I think it's important that If there is an effort to really diversify your department That includes not just the students but as well the faculty And really making it an effort. Um, I want to university of Maryland, for example has the a reef initiative in the Reap Center Which really focuses on diversity and inclusion In computer science and information sciences. And so I think that they have There's one clear example of a university who has made it a priority Throughout the work that they're doing and they are supporting that with the various initiatives that they're doing And how they they engage their student body and their faculty in the work that they're doing I think other universities are doing it as well. It may not be on the same level As I foresee But I think that um, we're hoping to see that diversity and I'm a an optimist at heart So I'm hoping that this will translate into The work that we're able to do and we definitely will see the numbers of women Graduating climbing graduating with computer science. Let me always make sure that I'm clear Computer science and information science is different. Well, thank you. That's a great vision. I I love your optimism Um, and I again, I that was a question for me. So let me get out of the way and get a couple questions from other folks here Um, this is one from Purdue University Global. Uh, christina That's corn who says is ddi fully realized without a diverse administration That is even if we were able to hire a diverse itc sis faculty How meaningful are those initiatives with the homogeneity? No, I'll flash that back in the screen again because it's I think that uh remains to be seen. I think that is one one part of the equation Um to be able to have the diverse administration Um, we still see that there are challenges in being able to have that diversity in an administration So if that's one piece that has already been worked out, then I think that um, at least there is a will um to have to diversify Much deeper and hopefully working towards success. I think again, it's about faculty and the numbers If you really look at across the board, um the number of diverse faculty in this area in cs and um Cs specifically, but information sciences. You see a lot more diversity, but in computer science um, it is a challenge to have to see the level of diversity and I think it's a work in progress um, because things don't change overnight I recognize that um in the work that I do, but I think that if a um university And an administration takes it on um to be intentional about the work that they're doing I think that they can create a strategy for getting there um, and hopefully they will get there within a reasonable amount of time by setting benchmarks and and strategies and um ways that they are going to engage with their full community Yeah, and brine if you don't mind I could just You know say one thing about that too. Thank you for outlining that and and I think too about The lack of diversity as far as like the the CEOs and the business leaders in the technology space specifically the education technology space when you think about um companies like Blackboard or canvas or names that are known within the education community Most of them are you know white and in Asian men So how can we not only provide? You know spring internships for students to work on behalf of like an education technology company But also entrepreneurial experiences and tech to be like hey for three weeks build your own education technology company Right like you go start the next thing You know the next shindig or the next zoom or the next canvas or whatever it may be like there is You know so many online educational offerings like there is more than enough room for a new You know technologies and innovations and tech companies to to arise and it will be great to see More you know minority representation within the ceo's and the startups that we're seeing In the technology space and Jordan to that point. I wanted to mention one of our other And for standalone programs, which is our guild program it's Sprint internships is one and then our guild is our flagship and guild is more tailored to those students who are undeclared or undecided And we're hoping to potentially convert them to cs and is majors And just to your point during that the guild is a week long program And they have industry mentors who come in and support their work But they're also learning usually some type of technical language And they have a focus area Our George mason students did guild about two almost two weeks ago now And their focus was around ed tech And so the students learned about the ed tech community and what that means And over the course of the week They were broken into teams and the teams had to develop some type of ed tech solution And really the diversity of the Ideas that the students came up with were just blow me away or every time Because with some of those things that they some of the solutions they come up with they could actually then be Develop further into actual programs. There was one that was called I think it was called diverge and it focused on It was a task Task project task scheduling project for students who Neuro diverse students Neuro divergent students. I'm sorry and it They set up an app. They built an app They built this out in a week And they were able to show it and they showed all the bells and whistles and then As part of their project and they had to critique it and decide, okay What additional supports do I need to put in place to be able to take bring this to market? And so those types of things to your point I think are are quite important in another way that we're able to Provide those opportunities to students that participate and break the tech Oh, yeah, that's amazing. Um, again, I want to have like a separate conversation I think even deeper into that especially in the the education technology one, but but that's so important I'm curious as to How how are students made aware of programs like like guild like what is the outreach effort like? So, of course, and I know brian, we're almost at time and I want to make sure that um, I'm Sensitive to that. Um, but with the each of the programs we tend to have a A small cohort that we are recruiting from because it happens within that university. So, um At university of maryland their guild is in august their guild is in august for george mason they did theirs in early june and They send it out amongst their student body There are Community colleges with whom they work and some of those students may be transferring in The george mason or into university of maryland and they share information there as long as a student is affiliated with the university Then um, they can apply to the program And then there's a criteria that the university will Has developed they are students are accepted into the program and then they decide whether they want to participate And guild has a a stipend for that week. Um, a small stipend, um, but it does help to offset um any Minor costs that they may have for that week if they have to travel in or um something like that So it's usually within the compliance of that university Yeah, thank you for that That sounds great. That sounds great We have one question that came in that builds on a previous point and I want to make sure we get to this In our last few minutes together. This is from uh, again from ellen you who says tagging onto donnie's question earlier Have you thought about looking at it departments in higher ed institutions as quote companies to work with? um so I think do And is i'm not sure if this is regarding our spring term ship program or Are you approaching it from? um a different idea Ellen are you able to provide some clarity? Yeah, um, ellen if you oh, I can beam you up on stage too if you'd like uh I'll see what she gets to give her a minute more. Oh spring term spring term ship program. Okay Yes, so we do um utilize them for to host spring term ships and We work within the universities. Um, each of the universities have um different departments that also may support and host spring terms Um, so that's great. But yes, we do to answer your question. Yes We do look at them as a company Because they have real life projects that they want Students to work on or have um projects that someone should work on for a period and they may not have The staff bandwidth to be able to support. So we do Yes Yeah, I would assume that would be local so the kids that are at maryland would be trying to find a local spring term ship in the area geographical area versus anywhere in the u.s. Well mostly however, um because we are in this now virtual world, um, we have the opportunity to be able to provide virtual opportunities and so We work we have one company already that is signed on for our 2023 spring term ship that is based in new jersey Um, and the spring turns will be coming from the dc metro area And they will be doing that virtually. Um, and we are looking at some other companies who will be hosting virtual Sites for us in january of next year. So we're always Open to that as an opportunity and especially for those students. We do have students who travel home Um during the summer or i'm sorry during the winter break when we usually do our spring term ships And those virtual opportunities work. So we are open To host from really anywhere in the country, but anywhere that our students would then be able to Reasonably be able to support Thank you Oh, thank you elin. Good question. Good idea. I can imagine all kinds of possibilities coming from this Um, so elin, let me let you climb off the stage. Jordan. Let me stop Now hosting you on the stage all the time. Although, you know, again bearded guys, you know, a special thing, right? special group And donna this is this is terrific. I feel like we're in meeting you and learning about your work It's like we're just wading into the first, you know, the first step of a giant wave of change How can how can people keep up with what you're doing? How can people Follow and uh and learn more Definitely. Um, so we breakthrough tech dc is on many social channels Instagram as well as twitter our sites george mason and The breakthrough tech programs at george mason and university of maryland have Presence on social media, but I would encourage you all to follow our breakthrough tech Linked in site That has they compile a lot of information across all of our sites not just dc But as on our computing side as well as our ai side So that is definitely a way To stay engaged. You can also visit our website, which is dc dot breakthrough tech dot org Again dc dot breakthrough tech dot org and you go there It has all of the links to our all of our social media handles so that It's easy. You don't have to write anything down or remember if you just go to that site You can you see a little bit more about what we what we do Um and learn a little bit more about our students and our sites at university of maryland and george mason On the on the bottom left of your screen You all should see a kind of a mustard colored button. That's his breakthrough tech dc and that should take you to the website directly um Oh great, um, I think people are going to be following you like mad as a result We have one question that came in. I don't want to miss this. That's just snuck in Uh, this is just a snuck in friend and a great one. This is from fiddling Who asks the very basic course level? How will rubrics and content and computer science and information sciences be different to be inclusive? That's a very direct very practical very material question That's an interesting question. Um And i'm not sure if I would be the most appropriate person to answer that Uh, just because it varies by site It really varies by the curriculum of that particular university and I think that My colleagues at university of maryland and george mason would be able to answer that More succinctly than I would be I wonder donna maybe Not not next week, but but down the road a bit. Maybe we could uh host you In a panel session and bring on some of those faculty and some of those students Oh, that would be great. I'd really like that. I'll follow up afterwards Okay, and I have to say afterwards because somehow it's three o'clock Somehow you've just taken us through a wonderful tour of of the growing vistas of what you're doing with breakthrough tech dc Thank you so much donna. I really just appreciate all the work you're doing and that you chose to take an hour to share with us Thank you so much. Thank you brian and thank you for everyone who joined us today and for the great questions Well, that's that's what we do. That's what we do here in the forum We ask great questions, but don't go away yet friends. Let me just point out where we're headed next If you'd like to keep talking about this topic about how to support women and other presented minorities in technology Um on twitter just use the hashtag ftte or just tweet at me brian alexander at schindig events Or if you'd like hit up my blog at brian alexander.org If you'd like to go into the past and look at our previous sessions about computer science as well as about dei Just go to tinyurl.com slash ftf archive. We have a whole bunch there Looking ahead to still more issues again that form the future of education at us You can see the topics that we're looking at everything from public higher ed to free speech and the paradigm project And if you want to share any of your work including your work of dei shoot me a note I'd be delighted to share it with the whole community in the world And let me just close by echoing what our wonderful guest just said. Thank you all for your questions and thoughts Uh, it's just been a wonderful hearing from you. It's been great to further advance this cause And thank you all for thinking together with all of us. I hope you're all safe I hope you're all cool where you need to be cool and warm where you need to be warm and dry when you need to be dry Um above all take care be safe and we'll see you next time online Bye-bye