Chapter Member Newsletter
ACM Chapter Member News | June 2024
Welcome to the June 2024 edition of the ACM Chapter Member News.
Chapters are the "local neighborhoods" of ACM. Our Professional and Student chapters worldwide serve as nodes of activity for ACM members and the computing community at large, offering seminars, lectures, and the opportunity to meet peers and experts in many fields of interest. With over 1000 active chapters worldwide, we would like to take the time now to connect with all of you and bring you a few ACM Highlights.
ACM's fiscal year is coming to a close which means it is time to submit your ACM Annual Report. The report is for the fiscal year 2024 (July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024) and should be submitted by August 31, 2024.
To complete the report online, you must log in with your unique chapter web account. Please note, your chapter web account is entirely separate from your personal web account and should be accessible to all officers: www.acm.org/chapters/chapters/interface.
If you are unsure of your chapter web account or need to reset the password, please use the following link: www.acm.org/chapters/web-account-links.
HEADLINES AT A GLANCE:
Student Chapter Excellence Awards
Congratulations to the winners of the 2023-2024 Student Chapter Excellence Awards! This contest recognizes ACM student chapters worldwide that display considerable initiative during the academic year. Chapters submit applications in five areas: Outstanding Chapter Activity, Outstanding Website, Outstanding Recruitment Program, Outstanding Community Service, and Outstanding School Service. Winning chapters in each of these five areas receive $500 and a "best of" icon to proudly display on their chapter's web page. The winners for 2023-2024 are:
- Outstanding Chapter Activities: University of Texas at Dallas ACM Student Chapter
- Outstanding Chapter Website: UCLA ACM Student Chapter
- Outstanding Recruitment: University of Florida ACM-W Student Chapter
- Outstanding Community Service: Universidad Panamericana ACM-W Student Chapter
- Outstanding School Service: BITS, Pilani - Dubai ACM Student Chapter
Congratulations to all the winners! Learn how you can enter your school's chapter in next year's competition on the Student Chapter Excellence Awards website: www.acm.org/chapters/student-chapter-excellence-awards
ACM would like to congratulate chapters for organizing the following successful events. If your chapter would like to be featured in the chapter spotlight, please email [email protected] with a description of your recent event.
BMSCE ACM Student Chapter
(Bengaluru, India)
The BMSCE ACM Student Chapter held a three-month online course on Data Structures and Algorithms which started on January 21. It was a beginner's gateway to technical mastery, guided by expert Abhinav Kumar. The participants explored Java and C++ fundamentals before diving into Arrays, Strings, Sorting, Linked Lists, and beyond. They mastered advanced topics like Heap Trees, Graphs, Dynamic Programming, and Greedy Algorithms. Interactive lectures, hands-on coding, and Q&A sessions fostered an immersive learning experience. The participants also gained access to invaluable resources, including lecture notes and practice problems. Weekly mock interviews prepared them for real-world challenges with confidence.
California Polytechnic State University ACM-W Student Chapter
(San Luis Obispo, United States)
On Friday, March 8th, 2024, California Polytechnic State University ACM-W Student Chapter hosted an International Women's Day Celebration event in collaboration with Google Women Techmakers and Google Developer Student Clubs! This event brought over 100 students, faculty, and other supporters to Cal Poly's Advanced Technology Laboratories Keck Lab to celebrate women in computing and STEM. The event featured a keynote address from Dr. Kristin Austin (Vice President of I.D.E.A.S at Rewriting the Code), followed by a fireside chat with Morgan Young (LinkedIn Top Voice). This was further followed by a candid talk on Navigating the Corporate World with Dr. Nicole Birdsall, a Lead Product Manager at PayPal and Business professor at Cal Poly and Golden Gate University. A panel with women-led startups followed, and the evening ended with an impactful mentorship session, with Amazon SLO in attendance, among other notable women entrepreneurs and executives including Dr. Nicole Birdsall, Kelly Sooter, Kristen "Kiki" Wilkinson, Penny Lane Case, Stefany James, Gail Batac, and Donna Estrin.
Shanghai ACM SIGGRAPH Chapter
(Shanghai, China)
The Shanghai ACM SIGGRAPH Chapter held the 3rd Global Digital Skills Championships (GDSC2024), an international event consisting of three different sessions from April 14 to April 17, 2024:
1. The forum on the development trends of global digital creativity was attended by nearly 200 students, teachers and industry personnel, with speakers from China, Finland, and Japan.
2. The Global Digital Skills Championships (GDSC2024) offline finals consisted of individuals from 9 countries and regions around the world who participated in the two-day competition. Competitors completed the concept design, 3D modeling, material mapping and animation engine in the two days.
3. ACM SIGGRAPH CAF Tour, a two-day animation exhibition, attracted hundreds of students, teachers and industry personnel to watch.
European SIGOPS ACM Chapter
(Vorst, Belgium)
The European SIGOPS ACM Chapter held the 19th SIGOPS European Conference on Computer Systems (EuroSys 2024) on April 22-25, 2024 in Athens, Greece. Topics of interest for the EuroSys conference included: operating systems, database systems, real-time systems, networked systems, storage systems, middleware, distributed, parallel, and embedded computing systems. EuroSys 2024 was a four-day event. The first day was devoted to nine workshops, including the 19th EuroSys Doctoral Workshop (EuroDW'24), allowing junior and senior researchers to interact in a friendly environment on cutting-edge ideas. The three following days were dedicated to the main conference track, which featured a program of 71 high-quality papers on all aspects of computer systems. It was attended by over 400 participants and included 12 technical sessions, a poster session, several social events, and the EuroSys General Assembly. Overall, it was a lively event that followed the pattern of highly successful events established by previous EuroSys conferences.
Anna University School of CS&Eng ACM Student Chapter
(Chennai, India)
Anna University School of CS&Eng ACM Student Chapter held CodHer'24 which marked the illustrious 10th edition of the women-only hackathon. Held on May 4th and 5th, this year's event embraced a grand online format, attracting participants from across the nation to showcase their prowess in coding and innovation. Sponsored by Motorq, CodHer'24 boasted an impressive cash prize pool of Rs. 40,000, setting the stage for a fiercely competitive and intellectually stimulating event. Hack2skill served as the official platform partner for registration and submission, offering participants a seamless and user-friendly experience throughout the hackathon journey.
With a total of 340 participants and over 115 teams registered, CodHer'24 commenced with a grand inauguration by Dr. Annie and Isha from Motorq, followed by the commencement of the coding phase. The judging process commenced on May 5th, with round one conducted where mentors organized into panels, evaluated teams they did not mentor. The top 22 teams were then selected for the finals, which were judged by esteemed professionals from Motorq and Google. Following rigorous evaluation, the winners and runners-up were announced, with all participants receiving participation certificates as tokens of appreciation. Separate prizes for first years and second years were also awarded to motivate their participation in a grand scale hackathon.
University of Washington/Bothell ACM Student Chapter
(Bothel, WA)
From April 26-28, the University of Washington Bothell's Chapter of ACM hosted their annual hackathon contest, UWB HACKS AI 2024, in collaboration with the IxDA and WiCyS chapter clubs. Sponsored by Avanade and Muir AI, the event attracted over 350 students from all UW campuses and local community colleges, as well as a few high school students. Participants developed innovative AI projects, ranging from healthcare solutions to job search applications. The hackathon aimed to foster creativity, collaboration, and diversity in teams, emphasizing UX/UI and cybersecurity for a more multidisciplinary approach. The three-day event featured various activities, including live band performances by students, workshops, and guest speakers. This year's hackathon set new club records, boasting the highest number of participants, submissions, and prizes ever awarded.
Igdir University ACM Student Chapter
(Igdir, Turkey)
On May 17, 2024, the Igdir University ACM Student Chapter held a seminar titled "Shaping the Future: The Power of Quantum and Artificial Intelligence." They had the honor of hosting Gökçen Karasu, the esteemed leader of IBM, for this inspiring seminar. The event attracted over 150 students and faculty members, creating a vibrant atmosphere for learning and discussion. Mr. Karasu shared valuable insights on emerging AI and quantum technologies and career opportunities, followed by an engaging Q&A session that allowed participants to delve deeper into the subject matter.
The event was highly successful in fostering a deeper understanding of AI and quantum technologies among the attendees and motivating them to pursue innovative projects within these fields. It also strengthened the connection between the chapter and industry leaders, paving the way for future collaborations.
KARE ACM Student Chapter
(Virudhunagar, India)
Hack Odyssey 2024, held as part of the Euphoria 24 Extramural event, was a 24-hour student hackathon in India, organized by the KARE ACM Student Chapter, focused on domains like education, consumer tech, healthcare, retail, and finance. Smart minds around the nation teamed up to compete for a prize pool of 1,00,000 rupees. The event was significantly bolstered by the generous support of 30,000 rupees from ACM India's activity-based funding program. Industry expert Mr. Vadivel Venkatasan, Analytics Specialist and Lead at Accenture, provided valuable mentorship to the participants. Beyond the competitive aspect, Hack Odyssey 2024 served as a remarkable platform and a witness to interdisciplinary accomplishments, embracing diverse inputs and encouraging joy in learning through live music nights as stimuli to creativity.
OCWiC ACM-W Chapter
(Columbus, OH)
The Ohio Celebration of Women in Computing ACM-W Professional Chapter has kicked off an initiative to create a support network within the state. They have 3 professional ACM-W chapters in Ohio and 10 student chapters, with 4 more in process. OCWIC is the "meta" chapter, with its signature event being the OCWIC celebration. The North West Ohio and Columbus chapters focus their energy regionally. The three professional chapters meet regularly for support and to share resources. They just started a campaign to contact Ohio student ACM-W chapters to understand better how the professional chapters can support and connect them with other student chapters.
London ACM SIGGRAPH Chapter
(London, UK)
On Wednesday, March 13, the London ACM SIGGRAPH Chapter hosted an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the Doctor Who Christmas Special, presented by Untold Studios in partnership with the Collision Awards. The event took place at Everyman Cinema Kings Cross, beginning with a drinks reception at 6:30 PM and the main event at 7 PM.
Lead VFX Artists Evelina Dalin and Aimee Westley guided our audience through the creation of the 60th Anniversary Special, 'The Star Beast'. They shared insights into their work on the enigmatic Meep character and other visual effects, including CG environments, set extensions, battle scenes, and complex FX sequences. The special highlighted the seamless integration of costume and SFX with high-end VFX in a sensitive and impactful manner. Many industry professionals came together to learn about the project, meet other like-minded professionals and to reconnect with friends and colleagues.
Welcome to Our Newest Chapters
- Adamas University ACM Student Chapter - Barasat, India (Student)
- Adani University ACM Student Chapter - Ahmedabad, India (Student)
- Army Institute of Technology ACM Student Chapter - Pune, India (Student)
- BML Munjal University ACM Student Chapter - Gurugram, India (Student)
- Cape Town ACM SIGGRAPH Chapter - Cape Town, South Africa (Professional)
- CKDD ACM Chapter - Chengdu, China (Professional)
- CU Kengeri ACM Student Chapter - Bangalore, India (Student)
- Dubai ACM Chapter - Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Professional)
- European ACM SIGMM Chapter - Montbonnot, France (Professional)
- GNIOT ACM Student Chapter - Greater Noida, India (Student)
- GNITS ACM-W Student Chapter - Hyderabad, India (Student)
- GSFC University ACM Student Chapter - Vadodara, India (Student)
- Hellenic ACM SIGMOD Chapter - Athens, Greece (Professional)
- ITESM ACM Student Chapter - Monterrey, Mexico (Student)
- Lagos ACM SIGCHI Chapter - Lagos, Nigeria (Professional)
- Louisiana State University ACM Student Chapter - Baton Rouge, USA (Student)
- MITAOE ACM Student Chapter - Pune, India (Student)
- Nairobi ACM-W Chapter - Nairobi, Kenya (Professional)
- PSG ACM Student Chapter - Coimbatore, India (Student)
- Rajagiri ACM Student Chapter - Ernakulam, India (Student)
- Saintgits College of Engineering ACM Student Chapter - Kottayam, India (Student)
- San Diego State University ACM Student Chapter - San Diego, USA (Student)
- Seton Hall University ACM SIGPLAN Student Chapter - South Orange, USA (Student)
- SIST ACM SIGAI Student Chapter - Chennai, India (Student)
- SUNY Brockport ACM SIGAI Student Chapter - Brockport, USA (Student)
- Suzhou ACM-W Chapter - Suzhou, China (Professional)
- Sydney ACM SIGMOD Chapter - Sydney, Australia (Professional)
- TIT&S ACM Student Chapter - Bhopal, India (Student)
- VJTI ACM Students Chapter - Mumbai, India (Student)
- VRS ACM SIGKDD Student Chapter - Vijayawada, India (Student)
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