UC Irvine will host the National Center for Women and Information Technology’s (NCWIT) November 2008 Practices Workshop, Multiple Pathways to an IT Career, on November 6. The public is welcome to attend. There is no charge for this event, but registration is required online at: http://www.ncwit.org/irvineworkshop. The workshop is being co-sponsored by the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences and the Ada Byron Research Center on Diversity in Computing and IT.

More than 20 notable speakers will provide valuable information during the event as participants learn about research, practices, and programs that leverage multiple education and career pathways. Participants also will engage in active dialogue concerning the perceived barriers to blending “traditional” and “nontraditional” pathways and how individuals can overcome these barriers. Featured speakers include:

• JD Hoye, President, National Academy Foundation
• Dr. Lisa Servon, Senior Research Fellow, Center for Work-Life Policy
• Dr. A Nicki Washington, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Howard University
• Dr. Belle Wheelan, President of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

“In a world where technology is now ubiquitous, there are countless career options relating to IT, whether it's being a 3-D animator or an interaction designer,” says Debra Richardson, Dean of the Bren School of ICS. “This workshop will help students, educators and business leaders explore the future of IT careers, at an institution where innovations that help create these careers are made.”

Discussions will focus on the role that “nontraditional” or “alternative” educational pathways play in preparing the information technology (IT) workforce of the future. “These avenues are a rich, but too often overlooked, source of talent in our ongoing efforts to broaden participation in computing and the IT profession,” said Lucy Sanders, CEO and Co-Founder of NCWIT. Participants will benefit from the many opportunities at the workshop to collect information about these pathways; learn about research, practices, and programs that leverage them; and develop plans to utilize these pathways to diversify their organizations.

About NCWIT: www.ncwit.org

About the University of California, Irvine: www.today.uci.edu.