Dear Participant
from the bottom of my heart, welcome to the 10th edition of the ACM womENcourage, to Trondheim and to Norway.
In this letter I would like to share with you some practical information and overview of program.
First, the weather. Norwegians say “there is no bad weather, only bad clothes”. I encourage you to bring good waterproof shoes, a waterproof jacket, and also waterproof pants if you have one. In this way you will be able to experience the beautiful town, fjord, river, and possibly forest, without being dependent on the weather. Norwegian people dress informally and we will have an informal tone during the conference, we will walk from the hotel to the venue and to the concert. You will be able to walk everywhere. Norway is expensive, but as I learned many years ago when I first came as an exchange student, fresh air and nature are free. If you plan to stay a bit more, you will be able to experience the nearby forest and hills just walking from the town. Our volunteers will give you advice.
Concerning food, we have a full vegetarian menu for the three days and no alcohol will be served.
Some of you have subscribed as student volunteers. Thank you very much. If you have not subscribed and you still would like to become a volunteer, contact our volunteer chair Swetlana.Fast@ntnu.no
On behalf of our supporter Google, which will be at our career fair, we kindly encourage participants to stay in touch regarding the upcoming opportunities by filling this form.
Concerning the program, it is out on our webpage. We are proud of the three keynotes and the tech talks on current topics.
For Day 1 (20th September), you can choose between the hackathon or the EUGAIN workshop. If you want to participate in the EUGAIN workshop (and you are not a EUGAIN member yet), you need to be invited in the e-cost system. In order to do this, please create a user profile in https://e-services.cost.eu/ and fill out this form signaling your interest to participate in the EUGAIN workshop. Both steps are necessary. Note that we can only accommodate 100 people in the room, so your chances of being accepted increase the earlier you make these steps. We process applications until September 10. If you have any questions about this, contact Anna Szlavi (anna.szlavi@ntnu.no).
Participants of the hackathon are also required to participate at a pre-workshop that will be held digitally early in September. The pre-workshop is an opportunity to meet all mentors and participants, share contacts with your teammates and collect information and knowledge that you will use on the day of the hackathon. An email will be sent to all participants regarding specifics of date/time.
At the end of Day 1, there is a concert in Nidaros Cathedral, followed by a dinner reception Sit Kafe Kalvskinnet which is a short walk from Nidaros Cathedral. Guides will be available to escort groups from the hotels. If you have special needs contact our inclusion chair Birgit Penzenstadler and Alicia Takaoka.
For Day 2 (21st September), you have subscribed for three workshops, in your confirmation you have the names of the workshops you have subscribed for. The workshop chairs will also have a list of people subscribed for each workshop. At the end of Day 2, we will have our conference dinner in the conference venue.
On Day 3 (22nd September), in the career fair area you will find a selection of our supporters, representing private and public companies, large and small organisations, opportunities in development, research and education. The organisations seek a variety of skills and we want to offer a stimulating environment to discuss your potential career paths. Please make sure you visit the career fair during the conference, we hope this event can have a lasting impact on your career. In the poster area, you will experience contributions from the participants.
The conference will finish at 18.00.
I thank you for your interest, wishing you safe travels and I cannot wait to see you all here. For any questions do not hesitate to contact me.
Letizia