Collaborative Problem-Solving Workshops for Improving Confidence and Paving Pathways for Research Careers in Computer Science

A workshop was designed and run to motivate and inspire female undergraduate students studying computer science (CS) to explore careers in research. Key activities include peer mentoring, alumni mentoring, graduate student mentoring, faculty mentoring, problem solving skill building (through collaborative competitions), hands-on work, and session topics about graduate school and research careers. The evaluation criteria for the workshop include building community, improving skills, instilling confidence, and motivation and inspiration. The workshop was attended by a total of 74 participants, all of whom were undergraduate women pursuing degrees in computer science (and related fields). This poster will present the design of the workshop, which was unique in that it included problem solving activities in addition to exploration of careers in CS research. Quantitative and qualitative data collected before and after the workshop will be presented in the poster, but are not described in the extended abstract due to length restrictions.