Want to share your expertise and experiences with an extremely diverse set of beginner-level students majoring in CS? Being a guest speaker for this course is a low-barrier way to become involved and give back to the community!
Audience
Attendance is mandatory for our (up to 15) registered students.
The registered students are incoming first-year CS majors. The majority of these students are from underrepresented backgrounds (race, ethnicity, gender, and economic status). Some students may not yet have prior experience in CS.
We can also invite 15 to 75 non-registered CS students to participate if you want to interact with a broader audience.
Format
We are extremely flexible on both the format and content of guest speaker events, however we especially encourage content designed for a diverse set of beginner-level students at the very start of their degrees.
Some format possibilities (all of which we have experience arranging) include:
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A no-prep ask-me-anything or Q&A session (may be moderated, may have questions submitted ahead of time).
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A practice run of an upcoming talk for another event, or re-hash of a previously-given talk. The students’ background might not match the intended audience, but we can ask them to look into specific topics ahead of time.
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An in-person workshop where students break into small groups to work on beginner-level exercises.
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A panel of guest speakers with following Q&A session (especially recommended for alumni).
Events may be in-person or virtual. Both in-person and virtual events have the option of being recorded. Recordings can be distributed privately to students or publicly.
Virtual events will be conducted using the free Zoom video conferencing software. Virtual events also have the option of live-streaming to other CS students or the public.
Most, if not all, events will likely be held virtually due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and limited in-person access to campus.
Timing
We are able to arrange for events that range anywhere between 30 minutes to 90 minutes in length. However, events must occur within the class time during the semester start and end dates.
Advertising
We are able to accommodate a range of advertising options.
For example, for events for registered students only, we can list the event anonymously as “Guest Speaker” our public course schedule and share additional details on our private site.
For events open to non-registered students, we can announce the event on our CS Twitter account, print flyers, advertise on our CS student mailing list, and post the event on the University-wide calendar.
Benefits
Beyond the intangible benefits associated with this type of service, speakers will receive a formal thank you letter. We can also provide free on-campus parking and a small honorarium through our grant to offset other local travel expenses.
About USFCS
The University of San Francisco is a non-profit liberal arts Jesuit university. Undergraduates must take courses in philosophy and ethics, service learning, and cultural diversity as part of their core curriculum. USF is ranked 3rd in student diversity in the nation.
The Department of Computer Science at USF has a strong, inclusive community that includes the ACM student group, Women in Tech (WIT), Diversineers, and CS Tutoring Center. We host many events throughout the year, such as CS Night and the Diversity and Inclusion Hackathon.
Thanks to our donors and grant funding, we also regularly send our students to the Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing and Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing.