SheTech is an annual tech conference held in Utah where over 2,000 high school girls come to learn more about the world of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). They participate in a variety of workshops designed to give them hands-on experiences and opportunities to interact with professionals and companies from STEM industries.
Dr. Bonnie Anderson, the BYU Marriott Department of Information Systems Chairwoman, attended the event and directed a workshop that focused on eye-tracking tools to measure and improve user experience design in web development.
“SheTech was just a really fun experience for a lot of these women students to see the possibilities in STEM,” says Anderson.
In total, the conference attendees had nearly 30 workshops to choose from to learn more about various fields in STEM. Companies from across the state and nation were represented, offering girls the opportunity to interact with women professionals in STEM.
Dr. Anderson noted that for girls interested in STEM, attending events like SheTech can be very beneficial because of the hands-on experiences and the mentorship they provide.
“Attending events like SheTech, you can get some exposure and you can see some hands-on technology, rather than just reading about it. Also, the opportunity to interact with women who are actually doing STEM, especially those who are a couple of years ahead of where these high school girls are. I think that one of the most motivating things is just seeing women who are two to five years ahead of them and doing that thing and saying, ‘Yeah, I did it. You can do it too. Come join it!’”
The BYU IS department currently houses over 300 graduate and undergraduate students, with a growing number of them female. The department offers two degrees, a BS in information systems and a master of information systems management (MISM). Anderson says a degree in IS offers a diverse view of technology and the skills needed to improve the world.
“An IS degree offers a lot of diversity in the tech field, but it’s more application-focused and problem solving. Specifically, with a business scenario or business problem, you use technology and you work with people to develop solutions. It’s not coding in isolation or optimizing the algorithm just for the sake of science. It’s actually improving the world, or even a business on a smaller scale, to make life better for people by solving problems with technology.”
To learn more about SheTech, visit their website.