WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:01:14.400 --> 00:01:20.640 good afternoon welcome once again to everyone who  joined us today my name is amita shetty and i'm   00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:27.440 the director of breakthrough tech at uic to who's  breakthrough tech you saw the logo on the video   00:01:27.440 --> 00:01:34.320 just now and i mentioned the organization to put  it simply breakthrough tech is a team of i like to   00:01:34.320 --> 00:01:41.360 call them impatient optimists we want more female  and female identifying students at uic in chicago   00:01:41.360 --> 00:01:46.480 and in other cities where we're represented and  since the goal is lofty we can't do it alone   00:01:47.040 --> 00:01:53.760 so with me and with the breakthrough tech team  at uic we've partnered with a cross cross-section   00:01:53.760 --> 00:02:00.000 of this university so we've got admissions we've  got college of engineering college of business   00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:06.960 liberal arts and sciences and we've got three  inspiring students with us today 00:02:06.960 --> 00:02:13.600 and we also have  a student body representation with L@s GANAS 00:02:13.600 --> 00:02:18.800 so all of these individuals and departments are  represented here today you will see them either   00:02:18.800 --> 00:02:23.360 live or you'll see them via the chat room so  we're excited to be here we're excited to have you   00:02:24.080 --> 00:02:29.200 in terms of the agenda there were three  objectives that we wanted to cover one was to   00:02:29.200 --> 00:02:35.040 share the breath of possibilities in technology  two probably the most important aspect for today   00:02:35.600 --> 00:02:40.800 is to enable you to listen to our students and  ask them questions directly about their experience   00:02:41.520 --> 00:02:45.520 and then last but not least just talk about  next steps we've got students here who have   00:02:45.520 --> 00:02:51.040 been admitted to uic you may have questions about  what to do next we're happy to answer them or you   00:02:51.040 --> 00:02:56.720 may not have yet decided whether uic is the right  fit for you or not so we welcome you to ask your   00:02:56.720 --> 00:03:04.960 questions and we hope that you walk away with a  sense of a potential future at uic so let's start   00:03:04.960 --> 00:03:11.440 with the first objective why technology why bother  why are we making this the topic of today i'll   00:03:11.440 --> 00:03:18.000 make a statement which is that we use technology  to rapidly solve problems and improve outcomes   00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:22.400 those outcomes could be for markets for businesses  but most importantly for society and other humans   00:03:23.360 --> 00:03:28.160 it is the backbone of everything we  do but you don't have to believe me   00:03:28.160 --> 00:03:31.840 and if you're an engineer like me by  background you're going to be critical   00:03:32.800 --> 00:03:39.760 so i invite you to join a three poll  questions that bianca is going to help me   00:03:40.480 --> 00:03:45.440 show in front of you so bianca whenever you're  ready please put up the first question and   00:03:45.440 --> 00:03:51.760 please do the best to answer and i will share the  answers after you've had a few seconds to respond   00:03:53.280 --> 00:03:56.880 so i'll say the question in case folks are  on their audio devices and can't see it   00:03:58.080 --> 00:04:04.880 in the back of trucks boxes packed with vials  of Pfizer or the bioNTech covid 19 vaccine are   00:04:04.880 --> 00:04:27.840 equipped with all three temperature sensors  gps tracking devices and dry eyes true or false   00:04:29.200 --> 00:04:32.160 seems like the answers are veering towards 00:04:40.560 --> 00:04:42.320 all right bianca do we have a majority 00:04:45.840 --> 00:04:50.320 all right if you can see the results in front  of your screen the answer is true so a team of   00:04:50.320 --> 00:04:55.840 analysts watch over every aspect of these life  shiftments as we're experiencing them today   00:04:56.560 --> 00:05:01.360 if anything goes the wrong way the vaccine  operation center in dc gets alerted   00:05:01.920 --> 00:05:07.600 so that means if it goes away from one of the  intended destinations which by the way is 42 000   00:05:07.600 --> 00:05:15.040 united states zip codes or if the temperature  falls below or above the limit someone gets   00:05:15.040 --> 00:05:21.200 alerted including sending shipments back to pfizer  which actually happened about 10 days ago so data   00:05:21.200 --> 00:05:27.440 technology is incorporated in all of this question  number two bianca if you can launch the next one 00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:37.040 what percentage jobs of groupon which is a chicago  company located downtown are technology or data   00:05:37.040 --> 00:05:44.960 oriented for those who don't know groupon it is  about a 12 year old company it's got that g green   00:05:44.960 --> 00:05:52.320 logo if you have it on your mobile device it is  a source of online discounts and online coupons 00:05:55.200 --> 00:06:00.240 so how many jobs at groupon if you were to  look right now are either tech or data oriented 00:06:03.760 --> 00:06:09.200 so no one thinks it's a b c or d 00:06:19.520 --> 00:06:28.720 all right so the majority of you said greater  than 75 the right you're close the right answer   00:06:28.720 --> 00:06:34.160 actually is 50 to 75 percent so the exact answer  is two-thirds about 67 percent of the jobs if   00:06:34.160 --> 00:06:38.720 you were to log on to groupon today or about  two days ago which is when i looked at it are   00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:45.760 data technology design development all of  that women are majority of the consumers of   00:06:45.760 --> 00:06:49.920 groupon so doesn't it make sense that they  are part of the design and development team   00:06:50.880 --> 00:06:54.960 so that's number two last but  not least bianca next question 00:06:59.280 --> 00:07:02.720 what artificial foods are being  developed currently to address   00:07:02.720 --> 00:07:15.840 food shortages lab grown meats and  plants artificial milk or both a and b 00:07:19.120 --> 00:07:22.240 so it's either seems like a or c 00:07:24.800 --> 00:07:29.840 i will confess i have not i've  only had the impossible burger once   00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:41.280 and it's a strange experience all right the winner  is both a and b and that is the correct answer   00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:48.800 so it seems like everyone knows about the or  most people know about the cow free ice cream   00:07:48.800 --> 00:07:53.120 i didn't know that till this last weekend so  apparently there's a cow free ice cream available   00:07:53.120 --> 00:07:57.920 at our shelves in the grocery store scientists  can now use computers and lab chemicals to make   00:07:57.920 --> 00:08:04.080 sequences of dna including protein which is  naturally found in milk so you'd know about   00:08:04.080 --> 00:08:09.680 it in the grocery store maybe but what you know  less about is what can these synthetic proteins   00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:15.920 do to address malnutrition and food insecurity  that's exciting that's a lot of fun to talk about   00:08:15.920 --> 00:08:21.040 so those are three questions bianca do you want to  put the last one up number four to see how we did   00:08:22.400 --> 00:08:32.080 so if you answered all three correctly on our  system you get to pick yes one two three five six 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:36.500 seven 00:08:39.600 --> 00:08:45.440 that's fantastic i don't have dale's um drum  roll but if i did that's what i would play   00:08:46.320 --> 00:08:53.840 so pretend like it's there on the background  so after we're done um bianca is going to   00:08:54.640 --> 00:08:59.440 get your contact information for those  that won all three go got all three right   00:08:59.440 --> 00:09:02.720 and we'll send you a raffle  prize later on so thank you for   00:09:03.600 --> 00:09:08.880 participating in the poll now back to the  question why did i actually so if you want to um   00:09:09.680 --> 00:09:15.600 you can unshare bianca and i will i will shortly  share in about a minute so why did i show all   00:09:15.600 --> 00:09:20.480 these questions why did i ask you to join this  poll and it's to make the case that technology is   00:09:20.480 --> 00:09:26.720 everywhere and it's not just a field or one sector  but it really cuts across many industries to solve   00:09:27.680 --> 00:09:32.560 problems from health care to transportation to  e-commerce to food they're infinite ways to come   00:09:32.560 --> 00:09:37.200 up with better cheaper quicker solutions and the  solutions once again not only drive businesses   00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:44.560 and markets and consumers but they improve human  lives and social outcomes and so for some of us   00:09:44.560 --> 00:09:50.400 technology may feel like we're sitting in a dark  room coding in a corner what i'd like to reframe   00:09:50.400 --> 00:09:57.520 that experience to is a team sport that drives  creativity requires collaboration and problem   00:09:57.520 --> 00:10:05.520 solving so how do you play that team sport let  me share my screen bear with me just one second 00:10:12.080 --> 00:10:19.760 all right here are a few options at uic that  you can choose to pursue these are not the only   00:10:19.760 --> 00:10:26.000 options these are across all the various colleges  that i talked about at the beginning but there   00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:29.040 are several other options and you can explore  them but these are the main ones where you can   00:10:29.040 --> 00:10:34.480 either choose to major or minor so let me just run  through these really quickly computer science this   00:10:34.480 --> 00:10:41.040 is sort of the plain version if you will it is  the backbone of everything that's around computing   00:10:41.040 --> 00:10:45.840 so that means using a computer to take  inputs to produce outputs so as an example   00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:53.360 how do you run an autonomous train hundreds  of miles long without an operator in the cab   00:10:53.360 --> 00:10:58.560 well you do it with the help of computers and  all the logic and all the data that surrounds it   00:10:58.560 --> 00:11:03.200 number two you can choose to pursue computer  science and linguistics what does that mean   00:11:03.200 --> 00:11:08.160 that allows us to talk to computers have them  understand and repeat back to us what they heard   00:11:08.160 --> 00:11:15.040 so that means siri that means automated customer  service data science um we talked about sensors   00:11:15.040 --> 00:11:20.400 just as one of the poles all this data that's  being produced from the web from the sensors   00:11:20.400 --> 00:11:26.880 how do you how do you glean insight from that what  do you do with that data so on google alone we   00:11:26.880 --> 00:11:33.840 submit 40 000 search queries every second so think  about the data growth think about what insights   00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:38.080 can you get from that information and decision  sciences which is in our college of business   00:11:38.720 --> 00:11:42.160 that is really looking at data from  the lens of making a business decision   00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:48.000 how do you use data to solve a business problem  and then last but not least math and computer   00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:54.160 science math is core to many of much of computer  science but you can also choose to pursue both   00:11:54.160 --> 00:11:58.720 such that you can have two different career  paths a path you may take as a math major but   00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:03.520 also a path you may take as a computer science  major so we've offered flexibility in here   00:12:03.520 --> 00:12:08.000 so that you could pursue what makes most sense  for you and like i said there are many other   00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:11.600 minors that are not listed in here but you will  have an opportunity to explore that as well   00:12:12.320 --> 00:12:20.240 after the session what does this mean in terms of  careers these are careers that have real distinct   00:12:20.240 --> 00:12:26.560 outcomes for our society whether you're pursuing  a research role at Abbvie which is a chicago-based   00:12:27.280 --> 00:12:33.120 vaccine development company out in the suburbs  or you are a ux designer for trunk club which   00:12:33.120 --> 00:12:38.080 is part of nordstrom or you're part of financial  services and morningstar so these four are just   00:12:38.080 --> 00:12:42.640 four examples for jobs that are open today in  the chicago market so not only do you have an   00:12:42.640 --> 00:12:47.280 opportunity to pursue the outcome but you also  get to generate income for you and your family   00:12:48.000 --> 00:12:54.240 so how do you actually get into this career  what does it actually feel like to pursue   00:12:54.240 --> 00:13:00.480 this career so what i'd like to do next is  actually turn it over to veronica so   00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:06.240 she can moderate our panelists who can share with  you some of the experiences they've had at uic   00:13:06.240 --> 00:13:15.520 so with that i will stop sharing my screen and  turn it over to veronica awesome thank you so much   00:13:17.360 --> 00:13:24.000 um so i feel like i should actually ask  everyone about this our panelists to   00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:26.720 close their cameras so that  they can be highlighted on top 00:13:31.840 --> 00:13:37.680 hi everybody i'm veronica arreola i'm the program  director for L@s Ganas which is uic's latinos and   00:13:37.680 --> 00:13:42.960 science office we do work a little bit  with some computer science students but   00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:48.000 i also have a background in working  with women in science and engineering   00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:54.640 so i'm really happy to moderate this panel  moderation is one of my super powers so i'm   00:13:54.640 --> 00:13:59.520 actually gonna have each of the students introduce  themselves and i'm gonna start with megan because   00:13:59.520 --> 00:14:05.760 she's the next one next the student right next  to me on my screen so i just a real quick uh   00:14:05.760 --> 00:14:12.880 give us your name what year you are your  major and where you live uh on or off campus   00:14:14.720 --> 00:14:22.000 hi everyone my name is megan herrera i'm  a sophomore i'm a computer science major   00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:29.200 and i'm minoring in linguistics um so that's also  kind of related to the new cs plus linguistics   00:14:29.200 --> 00:14:37.600 major at uic i lived on campus last year as a  freshman and i plan to go back whenever we're   00:14:37.600 --> 00:14:44.240 in person again so i'm currently off campus  and i technically came to uic as a freshman   00:14:44.240 --> 00:14:50.880 and but i like um have a little experience like  transferring from a community college since   00:14:50.880 --> 00:15:01.280 i've taken classes at a community college  as well so yeah awesome thank you um anya   00:15:03.200 --> 00:15:12.160 okay um i'm anya i am a senior in computer  science um i'm currently off campus but   00:15:12.160 --> 00:15:18.800 um normally i would be living in the dorms  or on campus um at the south campus dorms 00:15:20.560 --> 00:15:22.400 they're the best area to dorm   00:15:24.240 --> 00:15:30.880 just saying if you do decide the dorm you  want to dorm in um TBH that's the goal 00:15:34.800 --> 00:15:37.600 and um before you got to uic you were   00:15:38.560 --> 00:15:45.600 in high school or yeah college i was a i was  in high school awesome thanks and akanksha 00:15:47.200 --> 00:15:53.840 hi everyone my name is akanksha also ash if easier  i'm currently an information decision sciences   00:15:54.560 --> 00:16:00.000 major with the college of business i'm also double  majoring with finance and minoring in economics   00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:05.280 it's a little bit of everything in business i'm  currently senior standing student but it's my   00:16:05.280 --> 00:16:11.280 third year i'll be graduating this december  um and i did come to uic from high school   00:16:11.280 --> 00:16:16.160 i've commuted freshman year and also lived  right behind our library up until we could 00:16:18.240 --> 00:16:27.440 thank you um so anya how did you find your  pathway to cs technology what about this attracted   00:16:27.440 --> 00:16:37.600 you um so i was originally interested in like  robotics um as a kid but getting robot parts is   00:16:37.600 --> 00:16:46.000 expensive so um my sister turned me to computer  science she was like if you can't break it apart   00:16:46.000 --> 00:16:52.320 and put it back together you can like play with  it um and then computer science is so cool because   00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:58.000 it's really interdisciplinary so like as i gained  other interests computer science was still useful   00:16:58.640 --> 00:17:08.960 um from like algorithmic justice to um being  like form boards and like stuff like that like   00:17:08.960 --> 00:17:14.320 computer science is amazing for everything  awesome akanksha what brought you here   00:17:15.920 --> 00:17:22.160 i actually took some computer science courses in  high school um and they were really interesting   00:17:22.160 --> 00:17:28.000 and i kept finding myself continuing some of those  and that over the summer i've taken voluntarily a   00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:33.040 few courses as well so i really enjoyed like the  programming aspect of it the automation aspect   00:17:33.040 --> 00:17:38.080 of it and just like amita was saying earlier it's  literally applicable to so many different fields   00:17:38.080 --> 00:17:43.600 that i thought um i should continue what i'm  enjoying and still pursue whatever interests me   00:17:44.640 --> 00:17:50.000 that's so great um so you weren't you didn't feel  like you had to choose the things that you like   00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:55.520 you can find them you found the connections  in cs technology yeah for sure uh megan   00:17:57.520 --> 00:18:04.960 um so sorry if you hear like dogs barking in  the background but um so basically um all of   00:18:04.960 --> 00:18:11.040 my family is like in the healthcare field so  i had zero idea what a career in like computer   00:18:11.040 --> 00:18:17.280 science or tech looked like and i didn't like know  anything about coding until high school because   00:18:17.280 --> 00:18:23.360 i was like watching this show called mr robot  which is like about hackers and i thought that   00:18:23.360 --> 00:18:28.320 was like that's actually really cool so  i just like googled i literally googled   00:18:28.320 --> 00:18:36.400 how to code and i found like free lessons online  and like the very first time that i like hit run   00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:43.280 and something like came up on screen i was like  i feel like a genius like so i just um decided to   00:18:44.080 --> 00:18:50.640 keep um learning more about it from there  and that's basically how i ended up here   00:18:51.520 --> 00:18:57.840 so great akanksha a i'm going to start  with you for the next question what kind of   00:18:57.840 --> 00:19:02.800 job do you feel like you're preparing  for or career you're preparing for and   00:19:02.800 --> 00:19:06.880 how do you see yourself using technology to  pursue all those things that you care about   00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:14.400 so i am currently into business college and  also majoring in finance so some of my interests   00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:21.520 in that aspect are you know quantitative trading  equity research um things like that as well as the   00:19:21.520 --> 00:19:28.080 IDS degree itself prepares you for data science  data analytics business intelligent business   00:19:28.080 --> 00:19:34.720 intelligence management information systems type  of careers so i'm looking into data science or   00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:45.040 also quantitative trading careers awesome um  megan what sort of thing are you what's your goal   00:19:46.720 --> 00:19:53.360 so um something you'll hear a lot when you  learn more about tech is like there's like   00:19:53.920 --> 00:20:01.760 two main paths kind of that people go to um you  can like go into research and you can also like   00:20:01.760 --> 00:20:07.040 work in the industry so right now i'm kind  of thinking of like entering the industry   00:20:08.560 --> 00:20:15.120 so something i'm passionate about is like  languages and learning um different languages   00:20:15.120 --> 00:20:22.320 which is why i'm a linguistics minor as well so  there's like this subfield of computer science   00:20:22.320 --> 00:20:27.920 called natural language processing which is  like basically like an intersection between   00:20:28.480 --> 00:20:35.760 cs and linguistics and it's basically  about like showing computers how to like   00:20:35.760 --> 00:20:41.440 comprehend and use human language and  that's something you can find in like   00:20:42.080 --> 00:20:49.760 google translate or siri alexa like when you go to  spotify and it has like a voice searching feature   00:20:50.320 --> 00:20:56.560 um stuff like that is what nlp can  like um work on so i'm interested in 00:20:58.880 --> 00:21:07.280 working on like a project or at a job that has  something to do with um that kind of stuff and   00:21:07.280 --> 00:21:16.080 like another thing um that nlp like the research  side um something cool is that at uic i know   00:21:16.080 --> 00:21:24.320 some professors have done research detecting like  symptoms of dementia and mental illness from like   00:21:25.760 --> 00:21:31.040 people's speech patterns and computers are  really good at working with patterns so   00:21:31.760 --> 00:21:37.200 yeah that's another like application  of how cs and linguistics interact   00:21:38.640 --> 00:21:40.880 love it so many things you just said just touch on   00:21:42.080 --> 00:21:48.880 so many of our days everyday things um anya  what uh what do you think is on your horizon 00:21:52.560 --> 00:21:53.840 um so 00:21:56.080 --> 00:22:03.920 um well i'm slightly undecided i guess to be  honest i want to do research or an algorithmic   00:22:03.920 --> 00:22:09.920 bias um and i'm undecided if the best place to  do that would be in academia or if it would be   00:22:09.920 --> 00:22:16.480 like in an industry industry research area  so you can do research in the industry so   00:22:17.200 --> 00:22:27.280 um i decided if which one i would like to do um  but i know what i want to do if that makes sense   00:22:27.280 --> 00:22:32.400 not where to do it absolutely uh  algorithmic bias is definitely   00:22:32.400 --> 00:22:36.000 one of those places that i'm very  curious about myself in terms of 00:22:38.400 --> 00:22:46.080 computing and cs and data and how we all see each  other and interact so that's really exciting to   00:22:46.080 --> 00:22:52.240 hear um before i get to my next question i  want to encourage everyone out there all the   00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:58.960 potential uic students to ask questions in the  chat and ask questions of our students here 00:23:02.400 --> 00:23:02.900 so 00:23:05.760 --> 00:23:11.520 the next question is what kind of organizations  are you engaging with are you living and   00:23:12.080 --> 00:23:19.600 studying and eating and doing nothing but computer  science what what's your what's your what else are   00:23:19.600 --> 00:23:28.560 you doing on campus uh let's start with megan yeah  so although a lot of my time is spent like doing   00:23:29.200 --> 00:23:38.320 sitting there like hacking out code um that's not  the case for what i'm doing like um for my free   00:23:38.320 --> 00:23:46.400 time um i'm involved in like um i've been involved  in a lot of um cultural organizations at uic   00:23:47.040 --> 00:23:53.600 such as like um we have like filipinos and  alliance i've been a part of a dance crew too 00:23:55.760 --> 00:24:03.120 i'm also involved with our asian american resource cultural and resource center and i'm a mentor   00:24:03.120 --> 00:24:10.160 for their um asian american mentoring program  and lastly i've been involved with our women   00:24:10.160 --> 00:24:17.040 in computer science organization so yeah those  are just some things that i've done outside of   00:24:17.760 --> 00:24:28.480 cs classes that's so great akanksha um so i've had  time to get involved quite a lot just because i   00:24:28.480 --> 00:24:34.640 wouldn't say ids is that coding heavy there's a  lot of different avenues with that we can take   00:24:34.640 --> 00:24:40.160 with it um so i've had a little bit more time  than i know cs students do get but i'm currently   00:24:40.160 --> 00:24:45.680 president of the united women's network which is a  professional development development org for women   00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:50.720 of all majors i'm also part of alpha kappa  psi which is also a professional development   00:24:50.720 --> 00:24:56.240 fraternity co-ed fraternity and other than  that i'm part of like finance investment group   00:24:56.240 --> 00:25:03.360 portfolio management team the fcg consulting  group all just that all of those just kind of   00:25:03.360 --> 00:25:08.480 lead to a lot of good networking opportunities  connections connecting with professionals who   00:25:08.480 --> 00:25:15.760 do work in like i.t careers alumni especially um  and a lot of professional development thank you   00:25:15.760 --> 00:25:28.080 anya where do you find your home at uic um okay um  in terms of organizations um like the organization   00:25:28.080 --> 00:25:34.640 that i'm like most a part of is intervarsity which  is a christian fellowship organization um they 00:25:34.640 --> 00:25:42.240 have like many different aspects they like the  black um part which i'm in but they also have like   00:25:42.240 --> 00:25:48.400 as i said south campus i said south campus  because like they have a south campus 00:25:48.400 --> 00:25:54.000 um so i never really had to leave my dorm um  to meet other christian friends but i'm also   00:25:55.840 --> 00:26:03.200 an officer of chess club I'm really into chess i  play competitive chess um and through chess club   00:26:03.200 --> 00:26:10.400 i've worked with like the um chicago chess  organization um and like chess club tries   00:26:10.400 --> 00:26:18.000 to work with um and they hold uh tournaments  at um the student center like every weekend um   00:26:19.520 --> 00:26:29.440 so it's like a really good casual chess  community um which is so amazing that's so great   00:26:29.440 --> 00:26:35.520 um i have been at uic for many years and i am  always impressed with all the different pockets   00:26:35.520 --> 00:26:41.680 of communities that we have that are overlapping  and welcoming and making our campus quite lively   00:26:42.240 --> 00:26:48.800 um i want to ask amita if there are any questions  that we want to elevate to the panel yes um   00:26:48.800 --> 00:26:52.800 there are two questions that i think  would be great to get their perspective on   00:26:53.680 --> 00:26:59.040 one is what research opportunities have been  given to students or any of the three of you   00:26:59.040 --> 00:27:05.600 at uic and then number two how have students been  involved in internships so i will throw that out   00:27:05.600 --> 00:27:11.760 there for any of you to be able to answer the  research side as well as the internship side   00:27:11.760 --> 00:27:17.520 uh oh i'll go for the research side um i  was given two research opportunities with   00:27:18.320 --> 00:27:27.040 through uic i guess um my first was freshman  after freshman year the summer after freshman year   00:27:27.040 --> 00:27:34.800 i was able to do a national science  foundation sponsored um in norfolk state   00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:40.160 at norfolk state university which  is a historically black college   00:27:40.160 --> 00:27:47.840 um near virginia beach so i was near  virginia beach um which is a beautiful beach   00:27:48.480 --> 00:27:55.600 with amazing pancakes and um it was really cool  and it was it was a really cool experience it was   00:27:55.600 --> 00:28:00.640 i'm a computer science major but it worked a lot  with like electrical engineering and i learned a   00:28:00.640 --> 00:28:10.080 bunch from it and then at uic i was able to do  research um with the bioengineering department   00:28:10.080 --> 00:28:14.880 as a computer science major so i'm always  learning um every every department needs   00:28:14.880 --> 00:28:19.600 you this is really what it is needs  a computer science person to help out 00:28:22.240 --> 00:28:27.760 and i was able to work with the bio  engineers 00:28:29.200 --> 00:28:37.040 for their wearable tech technology so it's pretty  cool um like these can be paid so it's good 00:28:39.600 --> 00:28:44.880 yes yes all yes to all of that especially  pancakes love pancakes and i love it   00:28:44.880 --> 00:28:49.600 when students get paid to do research so  megan or akanksha do you want to chime in   00:28:50.720 --> 00:28:58.240 i can also share some research experiences  i've had so um i am a part of the   00:28:58.240 --> 00:29:04.800 natural language processing lab at uic um  which is what i was like mentioning earlier how   00:29:05.600 --> 00:29:13.120 what nlp is. so uic has a lab that works  specifically on projects that are related to nlp   00:29:13.840 --> 00:29:19.920 so last summer one thing i helped on as  an undergraduate research assistant was 00:29:22.080 --> 00:29:28.720 their the project was about collecting  tweets from twitter and using those tweets   00:29:28.720 --> 00:29:37.040 to determine like we basically wanted the computer  to decide if the tweet was had like trustworthy or   00:29:37.040 --> 00:29:45.520 untrustworthy information related to covid so it's  like a real like current events thing and then um   00:29:45.520 --> 00:29:52.160 currently the project i'm helping on is about um  it's also what i was talking about earlier how   00:29:53.600 --> 00:30:02.560 you can collect data or text from places like  reddit or any social media and the overall   00:30:02.560 --> 00:30:11.040 goal of the project is they want to make a like  chat bot that can talk to someone and then um   00:30:11.680 --> 00:30:17.360 from the way that they're typing like  determine symptoms of mental illness from   00:30:18.240 --> 00:30:26.560 the from the user so yeah that's awesome thank  you uh i'm gonna actually ask amita if there's   00:30:26.560 --> 00:30:35.600 any other question just because of the time that  we should uh bring to the panel i don't see any   00:30:35.600 --> 00:30:43.680 questions that are broadly applicable actually  there's one that came up specifically for akanksha 00:30:43.680 --> 00:30:49.840 how is your experience with double  majoring is it too difficult or time consuming 00:30:52.400 --> 00:30:57.040 um that's a great question actually and i  encourage a lot of my peers all the time to add   00:30:57.040 --> 00:31:03.040 on minors and majors i don't think students leave  uic no matter what college you're from without   00:31:03.040 --> 00:31:07.680 a double major or a minor just because the  courses and the professors and the communities   00:31:07.680 --> 00:31:14.560 really encouraging of that um the reason i was  able to double major and minor and i'm still   00:31:14.560 --> 00:31:19.600 set to graduate a little bit early is because of  my ap credits really worked out so uic accepts a   00:31:19.600 --> 00:31:24.720 lot of ap credits that work out with reducing  scheduling with like gen eds and other things   00:31:24.720 --> 00:31:30.000 like that um but it's not very difficult or time  consuming depending on the type of majors you're   00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:35.360 choosing as long as you choose something you're  interested in classes will be should be fine   00:31:36.160 --> 00:31:41.840 and yeah i really recommend double  majoring for sure it's totally doable 00:31:44.480 --> 00:31:48.320 awesome thank you yeah there's so  many different combinations and   00:31:48.320 --> 00:31:55.280 always amazed at how what combination students  use to explore things very tech stem majors   00:31:55.280 --> 00:32:02.000 with some very um social science humanity  minors is great all right thank you all so   00:32:02.000 --> 00:32:07.760 much is there any last words you'd like to  share with uh the students watching today 00:32:10.320 --> 00:32:18.000 megan um i guess something i want to say is  that like um we're all here because this is like   00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:25.280 women in tech and um i think it's really important  because um everyone here has like a unique   00:32:25.280 --> 00:32:34.800 perspective to offer and if one type of person was  like making products for everyone that wouldn't   00:32:34.800 --> 00:32:42.560 be very helpful so the more different perspectives  and ideas that you can bring to the table the more   00:32:42.560 --> 00:32:48.880 different kind of people the like more inclusive  and better your product or your technology will   00:32:48.880 --> 00:32:57.840 be so i think it's really important if you're  interested to keep um learning akanksha any last thoughts   00:32:58.800 --> 00:33:07.760 yeah um i think that i'm really happy to see um  all the interest in uic's tech majors i think uic   00:33:07.760 --> 00:33:13.840 is a great community for no matter what you want  to get involved in whether it's chess or 00:33:15.120 --> 00:33:20.640 ethnic groups or business professional groups  i think we have a great community regardless   00:33:20.640 --> 00:33:27.040 of your major and really show that diversity in  in like majors and in the classroom outside the   00:33:27.040 --> 00:33:33.600 classroom can take you a long way in the city  of chicago so i hope you guys will be here soon 00:33:36.880 --> 00:33:46.560 thank you and anya wrap us up with uh some last  words please um yeah i'm just gonna say i agree   00:33:46.560 --> 00:33:54.400 that um any anybody you meet at uic can be  a really helpful person um from somebody in   00:33:54.400 --> 00:34:00.160 your major to somebody in your department in  engineering department a professor you might   00:34:00.160 --> 00:34:09.840 not even have any classes with um to um just a kid  who's taking that one calculus class with you and   00:34:09.840 --> 00:34:19.520 will help you get that a so um like uic is really  great there's so many good people and if you keep   00:34:19.520 --> 00:34:25.040 an open mind that every single person's helpful  in their own way um you'll you'll just glide 00:34:29.920 --> 00:34:32.880 awesome thank you so much  i will definitely say that   00:34:33.440 --> 00:34:39.760 i did my undergraduate at uh studies here at  uic and there are people i work with now who   00:34:39.760 --> 00:34:46.720 we took classes with many many moons ago with  that thank you so much all three of you um it's   00:34:46.720 --> 00:34:51.360 been a pleasure to take spending this time with  you and i am now going to hand it over to emily 00:34:53.440 --> 00:34:58.720 perfect thank you so much veronica give me one  second here i'm gonna share my screen with you all   00:34:59.520 --> 00:35:01.840 one of the last times here 00:35:07.040 --> 00:35:12.800 okay i think we are ready to go so one of the  things obviously that we want to leave you guys   00:35:12.800 --> 00:35:18.240 with are some next steps so for one of the last  components of the event we just want to set you   00:35:18.240 --> 00:35:23.760 guys up with things to consider depending on what  sort of student that you are joining us today   00:35:23.760 --> 00:35:28.400 very quickly though to introduce myself my name  is emily marr and i am an associate director in   00:35:28.400 --> 00:35:34.160 the college of engineering here at uic uh prior  to my start in engineering i spent six years in   00:35:34.160 --> 00:35:38.960 the admissions office here on campus so i'm  no stranger to the application or enrollment   00:35:38.960 --> 00:35:44.560 process here i'm also an alumna of the college  of liberal arts and sciences at uic as well as   00:35:44.560 --> 00:35:50.000 our honors college so i am no stranger to this  campus either so i know we've established that   00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:55.600 we have both admitted students and prospective  students with us joining today so i want to   00:35:55.600 --> 00:36:00.720 address both of those populations here so for  any high school seniors who might be joining us   00:36:00.720 --> 00:36:07.040 who might not have applied yet to uic just so you  can see that our deadline for the fall 2021 term   00:36:07.040 --> 00:36:14.400 is coming up this monday february 1st please note  this is a slight extension our general or normal   00:36:14.400 --> 00:36:19.360 deadline for first-year students each fall  would usually be january 15th but due to   00:36:19.360 --> 00:36:25.040 the ongoing covid19 pandemic we  extended that slightly to accommodate students   00:36:25.840 --> 00:36:30.640 also uic is common applications specific for  first-year students so this is where you will   00:36:30.640 --> 00:36:37.520 also submit the 60 application fee or a fee waiver  if you're eligible you can request one there   00:36:37.520 --> 00:36:41.440 your high school counselor is going to be your  best bet to determine if you're eligible for a   00:36:41.440 --> 00:36:46.240 fee waiver and they can walk you through some of  those processes but to complete your application   00:36:46.240 --> 00:36:50.960 for review all applicants will need to submit  an official high school transcript sent directly   00:36:50.960 --> 00:36:56.800 from a school official like your counselor and  official test scores if applicable uh so the   00:36:56.800 --> 00:37:02.720 main reason i say if applicable here so for the  upcoming academic year students applying for 2021   00:37:02.720 --> 00:37:09.920 or spring 2022 and also due to covid we are test  optional for the next few semesters so students   00:37:09.920 --> 00:37:16.320 can indicate on the common application whether  or not they want their act or sat scores reviewed   00:37:16.320 --> 00:37:22.800 with their application we'll keep you guys posted  in the future to determine whether this policy   00:37:22.800 --> 00:37:27.120 will remain in place for any current juniors  or younger students that are joining us today   00:37:27.680 --> 00:37:32.160 uh just a few differences for transfer students  for the application process you'll see our general   00:37:32.160 --> 00:37:40.080 fall 2021 transfer deadline is still a few months  away at april 1st and you can visit apply.uic.edu   00:37:40.080 --> 00:37:45.280 for more information on deadlines for future  terms as those applications become available   00:37:45.280 --> 00:37:49.840 online you'll also notice right away that  transfer students utilize a web application   00:37:50.480 --> 00:37:54.080 and they don't use the common app so a  little bit different for first year students   00:37:54.640 --> 00:37:59.920 so once you get your application for admission  as a transfer student you'll be able to see any   00:37:59.920 --> 00:38:05.200 required materials that you need to submit to  complete your application review most commonly   00:38:05.200 --> 00:38:10.320 this is just going to be an official transcript  from each institution you've previously attended   00:38:10.320 --> 00:38:17.440 before applying to uic you might also be required  to submit test scores such as acc or act or sat   00:38:17.440 --> 00:38:22.640 scores but generally this is more seen with  applicants who have fewer than 24 college   00:38:22.640 --> 00:38:28.400 credits completed at the time you apply now let's  switch gears to our admitted students joining us   00:38:28.400 --> 00:38:33.600 today of course congratulations you'll hear that  time and time again from us over the next couple   00:38:33.600 --> 00:38:38.880 of months as we continue to communicate with you  about your fall plans this slide gives you an idea   00:38:38.880 --> 00:38:45.760 of things to come over the next few months but  for full details it's best to visit bound.uic.edu   00:38:45.760 --> 00:38:50.720 and view the admitted student checklist there you  can also contact the office of admissions through   00:38:50.720 --> 00:38:58.080 virtual chat at the same website or via email  at just admissions.uic.edu if you need assistance   00:38:58.080 --> 00:39:02.880 with any of the steps that are listed here so the  first item you'll want to consider as an admitted   00:39:02.880 --> 00:39:08.320 student is accepting your offer of admission so  you see that uic has no enrollment deposit so   00:39:08.320 --> 00:39:14.560 this action is simply just reserving your spot in  the incoming fall class may 1st is recognized as a   00:39:14.560 --> 00:39:19.120 national college enrollment deadline but you'll  want to check with each school specifically if   00:39:19.120 --> 00:39:23.440 you have other considerations just to make sure  that you don't miss any important dates there   00:39:24.320 --> 00:39:30.960 next on the list are your placement exams which  are completed online on your my.uic.edu portal the   00:39:30.960 --> 00:39:35.920 exams that you're going to be asked to complete  will depend on the program you've been admitted to   00:39:35.920 --> 00:39:40.720 but you can start completing them online beginning  in early february so probably starting next week   00:39:41.760 --> 00:39:45.840 completing your placement exams is a requirement  to be eligible to register for new student   00:39:45.840 --> 00:39:51.680 orientation which is that next step registration  for orientation normally begins in early june   00:39:51.680 --> 00:39:56.720 and it's also where you're going to select your  first semester of classes with a college advisor   00:39:57.360 --> 00:40:02.320 we'll keep you guys posted over the next few  months on whether orientation is going to be on   00:40:02.320 --> 00:40:08.480 campus again or if it'll be virtual because of the  pandemic but as we get more information of course   00:40:08.480 --> 00:40:13.840 we'll dictate it to you appropriately and then  finally you'll want to secure your payment options   00:40:13.840 --> 00:40:18.640 for on campus if you have completed a fafsa and  you've received an award letter you'll want to   00:40:18.640 --> 00:40:24.080 accept any awarded aid and consider any offered  loans if there's an outstanding balance that you   00:40:24.080 --> 00:40:29.280 have the university also has payment plan  options to split any remaining balance   00:40:29.280 --> 00:40:34.320 into more manageable monthly payments if that's  something that works best for you and your family   00:40:35.520 --> 00:40:39.840 okay so to get more information about some of the  programs you've heard from today here are some   00:40:39.840 --> 00:40:44.480 helpful links i'm speeding through these because  i don't want you guys to rush to copy these down   00:40:45.040 --> 00:40:50.080 we do have a link to provide you with contact  information for various representatives that   00:40:50.080 --> 00:40:57.280 you've heard from today um so for my i'm sorry  with that my portion of the presentation has come   00:40:57.280 --> 00:41:02.800 to a close i'm going to ask my colleague amita  to return and close us out for q and a thank   00:41:02.800 --> 00:41:10.560 you guys so much thank you emily appreciate  it i know there's a lot of questions going   00:41:10.560 --> 00:41:16.400 in the chat room that we're all trying to  answer um i'd like to suggest if anyone   00:41:16.400 --> 00:41:23.120 has any questions they'd like us to answer  they're welcome to unmute their phone and or   00:41:24.160 --> 00:41:29.200 turn their video on and they can actually  just address us in this forum i want to make   00:41:29.200 --> 00:41:34.320 sure we get to all the questions and  we're happy to stay longer to do that 00:41:46.640 --> 00:41:53.760 anyone wanting to ask another question  there's never a bad question they're all good   00:41:54.560 --> 00:42:00.400 may i ask of course please  okay um so i applied to the gppa   00:42:01.120 --> 00:42:05.280 program and i was wondering when  i when i receive an answer for it 00:42:11.920 --> 00:42:15.840 does one of my colleagues know  the answer to that question   00:42:16.640 --> 00:42:25.040 amita i could answer it thank you this is  jamie from admissions um so we anticipate   00:42:25.040 --> 00:42:32.400 that gppa decisions will go out within the first  week of march oh okay thank you you're welcome 00:42:40.400 --> 00:42:51.200 anyone else i have a question please go ahead  okay so i wanna i wanna major in ux design   00:42:51.200 --> 00:43:00.400 but i was unsure so um i chose graphic design  as like part of my course does that like 00:43:02.720 --> 00:43:06.160 does that uh correlate to ux design 00:43:10.080 --> 00:43:17.120 um i can i don't know the specifics of  exactly because i know uic doesn't have a   00:43:17.120 --> 00:43:27.280 ux design major but um we do have like when you  um get um if you like major in cs um there's a   00:43:28.240 --> 00:43:37.520 higher like an upper level class that's called ui  ux design so um i'm sure if like you're a graphic   00:43:37.520 --> 00:43:46.800 design major you can always minor in cs too um and  yeah i'm pretty sure it's like totally possible to   00:43:46.800 --> 00:43:53.840 become a ux designer from like either path of  being a cs major or a graphic design major so 00:44:03.760 --> 00:44:10.000 does that answer your question  tracy if i also have another one um   00:44:10.000 --> 00:44:16.960 so like uh well will i get the chance to talk to  like the admissions counselor if i feel like my um 00:44:19.280 --> 00:44:25.680 like the uh the choice i made was like  like i want to change my choice you know   00:44:27.360 --> 00:44:33.440 yeah it's like always possible  to um change your major okay 00:44:42.080 --> 00:44:46.400 any other questions um i had a question   00:44:48.400 --> 00:44:54.960 sure please go ahead so i completed the tag  program um i just wanted to go through it how   00:44:54.960 --> 00:44:58.960 does that work exactly for when you're  transferring from a community college 00:45:02.160 --> 00:45:05.920 okay you just applied to the tag program  when did you plan on transferring into uic   00:45:07.040 --> 00:45:14.400 so i actually completed the tag program about i  want to say about six months ago and then i was   00:45:14.400 --> 00:45:20.480 planning to attend fall 2021. okay so you  should have been receiving emails from me   00:45:20.480 --> 00:45:25.760 already in regards to applying starting the  application process and just complete that   00:45:25.760 --> 00:45:31.760 application process as instructed and then what  will happen is once you're admitted to uic through   00:45:31.760 --> 00:45:38.000 the program i'll continue to stay in touch with  you and keep you informed about uh the next steps   00:45:38.960 --> 00:45:44.400 okay thank you i have completed an application i  just wanted to make sure that i'm i'm all set yeah   00:45:44.400 --> 00:45:49.360 no problem i'm keeping an eye on your application  so um i'll keep following you along the way and   00:45:49.360 --> 00:45:53.120 i'll make sure that you have everything that you  need all right thank you so much you're welcome 00:45:56.160 --> 00:46:02.960 there's one question i've seen two or three  flavors of it that i will try to say out loud here   00:46:04.080 --> 00:46:11.360 it is around how do you know what computer science  field really looks like are there any programs   00:46:11.360 --> 00:46:15.760 that can help you visualize it or experience it  and similar to that there were other questions   00:46:15.760 --> 00:46:23.120 around how can you apply computing to a career  path if you'd like to learn more we you can either   00:46:23.120 --> 00:46:29.600 contact myself amita@uic.edu or in the link we  have provided other contact information but we   00:46:29.600 --> 00:46:35.360 do have one week long or also four week long  programs that are offered by breakthrough tech   00:46:35.360 --> 00:46:42.160 um and the intent of offering those programs is  allow you to experience what it looks like to um   00:46:42.160 --> 00:46:46.000 undertake that type of a pursuit and  does it fit your taste does it fit your   00:46:46.720 --> 00:46:52.320 interest etc so please feel free to take a look  at that generally just put something um in the   00:46:52.320 --> 00:46:57.360 chat room as well but we realize that you can't be  something that you can't really experience or see   00:46:58.080 --> 00:47:02.560 so if you want to follow up more after the session   00:47:02.560 --> 00:47:09.840 or you want us to stick around we're happy to  continue to provide more info on that front 00:47:12.720 --> 00:47:14.240 any other questions from our 00:47:14.240 --> 00:47:23.840 participants 00:47:30.400 --> 00:47:35.760 i think anya got one in the chat room about south  campus and why is it your favorite housing if   00:47:35.760 --> 00:47:46.960 anya is still around south campus is my favorite  housing because south campus is close enough to 00:47:50.000 --> 00:47:56.240 campus campus that it's walkable if you go on  like west campus you need to take a bus which is   00:47:56.880 --> 00:48:07.440 annoying but um south campus is also better like  it's better in the sense like if you go to JST 00:48:08.000 --> 00:48:15.440 the dorm looks better um it's cooler you  had the in JST you have like the engineering   00:48:15.440 --> 00:48:22.000 portion so there's like this whole dorm tower for  engineers whole tower for honors whole tower for   00:48:22.000 --> 00:48:27.360 blah so you have a like a lot of people who have  connections with you in terms of classes and then   00:48:27.360 --> 00:48:35.280 um on TBH which is across from JST have been  in both dorms or i've lived in both dorms   00:48:36.000 --> 00:48:46.400 um you have your own kitchen appliances um  it's really fun you're above subway so like um   00:48:46.400 --> 00:48:51.760 you can have food easily um and then  you're also across from joy yee 00:48:53.040 --> 00:48:59.360 like i don't there's no complaint like there's  no complaint like living next to joy yee right   00:49:00.080 --> 00:49:03.520 you don't live next to joy yee in any  of the other parts of the campus so   00:49:05.040 --> 00:49:11.520 they're not as good at all um it's  just the way of the world right 00:49:14.960 --> 00:49:17.200 um so that's basically it 00:49:22.320 --> 00:49:26.400 one question came up from  carolina what club are you all in   00:49:26.400 --> 00:49:31.360 how have you been able to social  network in chicago for career purposes 00:49:34.960 --> 00:49:42.640 i can answer so i know i think anya and i are  both in wics which is women in computer science   00:49:42.640 --> 00:49:50.640 and they have um like i just went to one  yesterday there's a panel of people who work in   00:49:51.200 --> 00:49:58.080 industry they work at like a company  and wics and uic has like a couple like   00:49:58.080 --> 00:50:04.560 we have a few cs organizations who also host these  kinds of panels so they basically have like people   00:50:04.560 --> 00:50:11.760 from companies come in and talk about what they do  and the people sometimes recruiters are also the   00:50:11.760 --> 00:50:18.000 ones giving speeches so um you can always learn  more about companies through those there's a lot   00:50:18.000 --> 00:50:28.320 of different like networking of opportunities  especially in the city so yeah and also uic has   00:50:28.320 --> 00:50:39.840 career fairs specifically for like engineering um  so that's another good thing that you can go to 00:50:51.520 --> 00:50:57.200 all right maybe two minutes before we close out if   00:50:58.000 --> 00:51:09.920 anyone has any other questions that they  would like to ask us going once going twice 00:51:12.640 --> 00:51:16.160 so you know where to contact  us elena just put that in the   00:51:16.160 --> 00:51:18.480 chat room in the event you think of anything else   00:51:20.080 --> 00:51:26.560 if i could leave or close this session with  a one parting statement we want your voice   00:51:26.560 --> 00:51:32.560 we want your representation and technology we'd  be excited if you choose to apply to uic if you're   00:51:32.560 --> 00:51:39.120 still not sure we'd be equally excited to have you  contact us and ask any questions you may have so 00:51:41.440 --> 00:51:46.320 just want to make sure that that offer is heard  loud and clear because we've got the whole uic   00:51:46.320 --> 00:51:54.160 village on this zoom call today so thank you  very much to anya megan akanksha for sharing   00:51:54.160 --> 00:52:02.960 your experiences i have not seen your dorm room  where that is yet anya when i come back on campus   00:52:02.960 --> 00:52:08.080 i'm going to find you and you're going to have to  give me a tour if that's possible and i hope that   00:52:08.080 --> 00:52:13.760 there are other students once i learn where that  is i can give you a tour so thank you once again   00:52:13.760 --> 00:52:21.840 for being a part of this i am optimistic that you  will come join us whether it's at uic or a place   00:52:21.840 --> 00:52:28.000 that allows you to pursue a career in technology  and please find us if you have any questions so   00:52:28.560 --> 00:52:36.160 with that i will close out unless there  is anything else from a colleague of mine 00:52:42.080 --> 00:52:46.800 all right i will take the silence as  everyone wants to go out and play in the snow   00:52:46.800 --> 00:52:53.920 if you are near snow have a great rest of  the evening see you soon thank you bye-bye 00:52:56.560 --> 00:52:59.840 thank you