The Spring 2021 WiCyS @ Illinois Tech Mentorship Program aims to connect cybersecurity newbies with more experienced cybersecurity students (all within Illinois Tech)!
Students:
- Sign up for the program as a mentee or mentor: https://forms.gle/zvWM5rdf14NQio3B6
- Anyone can sign up to be a mentee.
- Mentors must have at least one year of professional, relevant experience in the cybersecurity industry
- Each mentee will be assigned one mentor. And each mentor will be assigned one mentee. (1:1)
- Mentors and mentees will be paired before the start of the Spring 2021 semester.
- Throughout the program, mentors and mentees will meet for at least 30 minutes twice a month.
- The goal is for mentors to provide mentees with guidance regarding school life, coursework, and careers in cybersecurity while creating a lasting friendship.
The deadline to apply for the program is
January 5, 2021. If you have any questions about the mentorship program, please let us know at
wicys@iit.edu!
A major concern in our industry over the last few years has been the declining number of women in the computing fields. IT is not like other industries where there is a “glass ceiling”, a level above which women cannot rise: there are numerous examples of women CIOs in Chicago alone, including the former CIO of Boeing Corporation Kim Hammonds, now Global Chief Operating Officer of Deutsche Bank AG. And of course there’s Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, and Megan Smith, CTO of the United States. But we understand that it is difficult being female in a male-majority industry. Our department is strongly committed to doing everything we can to reduce this gender imbalance and to ensure that every student in our program is successful. Because this is a serious concern, I wanted to take an opportunity to share some resources to support women in IT. And guys: you should at least read the articles so you can begin to understand why this is an issue. Read more…