According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the field of computing will have 1,240,100 job openings by the year 2022. In 2012, only 47,970 bachelor’s degrees in computer science were awarded. It is a high-paying, competitive field, with the average annual salary totaling $76,000. Having computer science knowledge makes one extremely marketable and the Computer Science Department’s K-12 Outreach programs aim to instill a passion for computer science at any grade level to prepare students for a future career in computing and technical disciplines. With the impressive start-up culture in Pittsburgh, as well as the entrepreneurial nature of the city and its plethora of high-profile companies looking to recruit technically skilled graduates, a rich computer science culture cultivated through programs like TLI can only serve to benefit surrounding communities.

NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing

  • The NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing honors young women at the high-school level for their computing-related achievements and interests. Awardees are selected for their computing and IT aptitude, leadership ability, academic history, and plans for post-secondary education.
    • Offers both a national and local award competition
      • Each local award taps into the powerful network of NCWIT Alliance members: teams from academia, non-profit organizations, startups, and corporations come together to build a community of support for young women interested in computing.
    • Applications are accepted from September 15-October 31 each year
      • Girls in high school grades 9-12 are eligible
      • Girls can register anytime. Registrants will be notified when applications open
      • Parents must provide their permission on the application for their daughter’s application to be complete
      • Each applicant must have an endorsement by their teacher for the application to be complete.

Aspirations in Computing Educator Award

Identifies outstanding educators who play a pivotal role in encouraging young women to explore their interest in computing and technology, and recognizes these educators for their efforts to promote gender equity in computing.

 

Technology Leadership Initiative

The mission of the Technology Leadership Initiative (TLI) is to provide underrepresented students in grades 6-12 with opportunities, tools and motivation needed to pursue Computer Science related degrees and excel academically, socially and professionally.

Objectives

  • Create a pipeline into Computer Science programs for students from groups who are traditionally underrepresented in the field.
  • Enrich the community and enhance students learning and civic responsibility by serving the community through education and service-learning projects.
  • Provide students with the academic success skills needed to transition from high school to college.
  • Empower students and parents with the tools and resources to gain admission to selective colleges and universities.

TECH DIVAZ℠

TECH DIVAZ℠ Workshop is an all-girls programming and computer science workshop for girls entering grades 6-9. The program is 5 days, held at the University of Pittsburgh June 13 – 17, 2016. Click here for more information. To apply, please fill out the application by clicking here.


TLI High School Academy

This summer, the program will focus on introducing students in grades 9-12 to programming with Python, lessons in Big Data, mobile applications, web design, as well as operating systems. This is a 2-week, intensive program that will be held June 20th – July 1st, 2016. Click here for more information. To apply, please fill out the application by clicking here.


Tour Your Future

The department hosts this program every year.  Tour Your Future is a career exploration program that gives girls between the ages of 11 and 17 the opportunity to meet with female STEM professionals in various fields and organizations. A group of graduate and undergraduate students give the students a tour of the department, a talk on how to dive into CS at a young age, and a demonstration on object-oriented programming using Alice. Alice is a free 3D programming environment based in Java that helps teach object-oriented programming. At the end, there is a Q&A session with students, faculty, and staff.

 

 

 

Sci- Tech Festival

The Sci-Tech Festival is held in both the fall and the spring at the Carnegie Science Center.  Middle school and high school students from across the Pittsburgh area are invited to explore the science center, while area universities and businesses host booths around the science center providing valuable information to the students and interactive displays allowing students to get hands-on experience.  The Department of Computer Science hosts a booth in both the fall and the spring, where we showcase student projects from our robotics students and computer games.

For Questions Regarding Outreach Contact:

Mackenzie Ball | Outreach Coordinator | mackenzie@cs.pitt.edu