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In the lead up to our Student Society elections, we're chatting to our current Presidents' to find out more about their role, why they chose Dal and Computer Science, and how other students can get involved. Emily Edwards from the Women in Technology Society (WiTS) highlights the importance of their work.

Tell us a bit more about you

My name is Emily Edwards, I am a final year Computer Science student and the President of the Women in Technology Society. I am also involved in the Computer Science Society as the Vice President Internal and I am the Student Representative on Digital Nova Scotia’s Board of Directors. Ìý

Why Dal?

Originally I had planned on going into Architecture and at the time HÂþ»­ was the only school in Atlantic Canada that offered it as a degree so I decided that it was far enough from home to have my freedom but still close enough if I wanted to go visit it on a weekend! My sister also when to Dal so it definitely swayed me into choosing that over another school that would have been much farther away.

Why Computer Science?

Because you have to do 2 years of another degree before going into Architecture, I decided to do Engineering because I thought it was related enough to Architecture that I would still enjoy it. Turns out, Engineering wasn't for me! But during my first semester we had to take a Computer Programming class, which covers C and C++ basics and I found it fasinating, so when I was looking for other options knowing I wouldn’t be staying in Engineering I looked into Computer Science and thought it had the perfect blend of Art and Math/Logic that I would really enjoy.

What do you like most about studying Computer Science at Dal?

The variety that the degree offers, two people may be studying Computer Science but go completely different ways with their electives and learn what they are interested in. There are just so many different fields in Computer Science and it’s ever growing so to have the option to choose from such a wide variety of courses helped me learn what I want to do when I graduate.

What does your society do?

The Women in Technology Society works towards promoting equality within the faculty and really trying to give everyone a place where they can come and feel comfortable. We want to give everyone an outlet where they can voice their concerns and feel like they have somewhere to go. We plan social events throughout the semester and one main academic event called We Talk Tech. This event aims to bring industry and student together so students can get a better feel of what it will be like when they have graduated. Generaly each semester we try to do something different. For example, last year we organized a career fair and a round-robin type of event.Ìý

How can students get involved?

I encourage anyone who is interested to join our Slack (dalwits.slack.com – you can automatically join with a Dal email) where we post opportunities and important infromation about our meetings and events! Our elections are also coming up very soon so if you’re interested in getting even more involved then run for a position, it is such a pleasure to work with all my lovely council members and they will continue to do great things next year! Ìý

Get involved

If you would like to sit on the Women in Technology Society Council during the 2017-18 academic year, election nominations are now open. Find out more on the .Ìý

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