Underrepresentation of female-identifying students in technology development starts early in our education system, in middle and secondary schools, and grows into a more significant problem in our post-secondary education system. Efforts to change the status-quo face challenges of creating learning environments based on supportive networks that empower the learner in discovering the power of technologies for and with others. In this talk I describe the design, experiences and lessons learned from the INSPIRE: STEM for Social Impact program at the University of Victoria; INSPIRE engages highschool and university students in team-based experiential learning projects that tackle pressing social problems of our communities. The program has created an industry-mentored network where students learn and support each other in their tech developing journey. Our research suggests that collaborative approaches to designing for social impact creates an equally realistic and challenging learning environment, yet one where members of diverse teams come together and overcome hardships, team conflict, and emerge as advocates for DEI in technology development. I hope to facilitate a discussion around the determining factors and scalability of the program design to other software engineering educational and practice-oriented environments.

Bio: Daniela Damian is a Professor of Software Engineering and the ECS-CAPI Chair for Inclusive Science, Technology and Engineering at the University of Victoria. She directs the INSPIRE program (inspireuvic.org) and leads research in human and social factors in software engineering, and requirements engineering in the SEGAL Lab (thesegalgroup.org). She can be contacted at danieladamian.ca.