"Schnupperstudium" Spring 2006

"Schnupperstudium" for Girls: 25 High School Students Get First-Hand Exposure to Computer Science

20 March 2006

What actually is computer science? Isn’t it something rather for "nerds"? Or can I study it too? From March 13 to March 17 2006 female high school students from all over Switzerland had the opportunity during the "Schnupperstudium" studying experience to find answers to these and other questions, get rid of prejudice and even try their hand at some programming.

Katja Abrahams joined the group and relates her impressions

Five Interesting Days at ETH Full of Diversity and Active Participation

The class schedule, which has been organized by the Forum For Women in Computer Science since 1999, covered many diverse subjects and was well balanced. During the first two morning classes, Kara, a programmable ladybird, gave the girls a hands-on introduction to programming with Java. From Wednesday on, the group focused exclusively on Java working on the programming project "Hangman". In the afternoons, the students gained an insight into exciting areas of computer science, such as encrypting techniques used in Cryptography or "smart" objects of the future of Ubiquitous Computing.

Project work gave the girls an opportunity to express their creativity and develop futuristic writing utensils, e.g. a "e-bracelet" with voice recognition or a mini-laptop controlled by brain activity with an integrated mirror for women. Moreover, they learned that apart from programming, an important part of software engineering is made up of project work and that the success of a project depends on non-technical factors, such as good time and quality management as well. Further highlights included the traditional "Spaghetti & Fun" dinners on Tuesday and the farewell drink on Friday.

Female Software Engineers Talk About Their Work Experience

A visit to IBM Research in Rüschlikon and two talks by female software engineers provided information about the job world for women in computer science.

Petra Marty is an ETH graduate and started her first job in 2005 as an IT consultant with Cambridge Technology Partners, a Novell subsidiary. "You do not have to be nerds sitting in front of the computer day and night, or hardware experts. It is much more important to be good at conceptional work and to have strong abstraction abilities", says the young engineer who currently works with Swisscom Mobile developing a new CRM system. She is the only female engineer in her division. She feels respected by her co-workers und has the impression of bringing some "fresh air" into her team.

Esther Gelle studied at ETH Lausanne where she also received her PhD. She works as a project and group manager at the ABB Research Center in Dättwil and is responsible for a team consisting of 9 men. "As opposed to some men, women usually have very good communication skills and know how to handle interpersonal relationships", reckons the 39-year-old. However, in her opinion women tend to be too perfectionistic and often take criticism personally. Esther Gelle is optimistic that more and more women will find their way into computer science since mixed-gender groups have been proven to work more efficiently. "There are lots of nice and helpful men", is another argument in favor of studying computer science which Esther Gelle mentions with a whimsical smile.

The "Round Table" - a Forum to Share Personal Experience

During one of the afternoons the high school students had the opportunity to ask female computer science students questions about their studies at ETH to find out more about life as a university student and how it differs from high school. One girl wanted to know how difficult it is for a woman to compete with the men who still form a large majority in the Department of Computer Science. Bettina who has almost finished her studies thinks that female first semester students of computer science should be more self-confident: "Don’t let the guys who show off with their great programming skills intimidate you. Most of them are just bluffing to impress the girls. Many of them fail at the maths exams at the end of the year and you find out that it was all just hot air", says the young woman who attended the "Schnupperstudium" herself when she was 17.

The girls seem relieved about the answers to their questions and about the fact that programming knowledge is not required to begin computer science studies at ETH. Even most of the university students present at the "round table" did not have any programming experience when they came to ETH. Maybe studying computer science is no that difficult after all?

Motivated High School Students

The 25 girls apparently liked the "Schnupperstudium" and had a lot of fun. Some of them have already decided to study at ETH after finishing school.

19-year-old Irene from the Canton of Zurich knew already before attending the "Schnupperstudium" that she would like to study computer science. She is good at natural sciences and has some programming experience with the software package Matlab from her maths class.

Dominique goes to school in Fribourg. She specializes in maths and physics but feels a little bit self-conscious since her teacher still considers girls who are good at natural sciences to be some kind of "exotic anomaly". "It was a very interesting week and now I know what computer science really is. Since I am also interested in languages and law studies I will decide about my studies after finishing high school", says the 17-year-old.

18-year-old Lea came all the way from the Italian-speaking Ticino to attend the "Schnupperstudium". She liked the talks best, especially the one about Ubiquitous Computing. If she could change something about the class schedule she would reduce the programming part which she found too demanding. Lea would like to study at ETH, either computer science or mathematics.

The "Schnupperstudium": To Be Exported

Ruedi Arnold has been co-heading the Forum for Women in Computer Science since 2003 which organizes the "Schnupperstudium" among other activities. For him, giving high school girls an insight into computer science is a great experience every time. "About half of the girls who start studying computer science at ETH participated in a Schnupperstudium one or two years before. That is really rewarding for us and proof that the concept works. Nevertheless, there is still quite a bit of work to do: the rate of female students in our Departement is currently only around 10%", says the PhD student of the Institute for Pervasive Computing who also has a diploma in computer science didactics.

The "Schnupperstudium" has even found fans beyond the Swiss borders and will soon go on a trip North. Britta Linnemann, PhD student at the German University of Hamburg and member of the local Board of Women, wants to adopt the concept and introduce a similar week of studying experience for women in the fall 2006.

For further information regarding the "Schnupperstudium" and the other activities of the Forum for Women in Computer Science, please visit  http://www.frauen.inf.ethz.ch/