For two weeks in late January, six UMBC faculty members woke up early to lecture and lead workshops with students in Brunei, a small Asian nation located on the island of Borneo, more than 9,000 miles away. The online talks were held as part of the “Brunei Cybersecurity Diversity'' conference co-hosted by Eda Hasnar, a champion of gender diversity in Brunei's technology sector. carolyn seamandirector of UMBC's Center for Women in Technology (CWIT).
The idea for the conference grew out of an internship Mr. Hasnal completed with Mr. Seaman in the fall of 2021 through the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative, a leadership development program funded by the U.S. Department of State. During his internship, which was conducted remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hasnal created a series of short videos focusing on tech workers in Brunei. She also collaborated with Seaman to propose a follow-up project that ultimately became the Cybersecurity Diversity Conference in Brunei.
The purpose of this conference was to share cybersecurity concepts and career paths with women interested in the technology field. From around 50 applicants, organizers selected 10 women from a variety of backgrounds.
“We wanted to keep the conference relatively small to provide additional opportunities for attendees,” Hasnall says. She said she was inspired by the stories of the women who took part, including one who worked as a cleaner while pursuing technical education. Hasnal also said Brunei is working to diversify its economy and she believes the technology sector is a natural growth area.
Seaman recruited speakers from across UMBC to attend the conference virtually and share their cybersecurity knowledge with attendees. karna girls,Information system, Deborah Kariukieducation, Christine Mallinsonlanguage, literacy, culture; Vandana Janejainformation systems, and Sredevi SampathInformation systems speakers spoke on topics ranging from cloud computing security to AI deepfake detection.
“The great thing about having female trainers from different backgrounds is that it was insightful and inspirational for all of us,” Hasnall says.
Seaman says it's great that CWIT's reach has expanded so much through its participation in the conference. “We've been focused on improving gender equality in the tech industry, and we've found that many of the same issues we have and many of the same goals are shared by people on the other side of the world. Ta.”
Tags: CAHSS, COEIT, CWIT, IS
