TechTogether is the largest initiative to address the gender inequities in the hackathon community. It was founded in 2017 and since then it has served over 3,500 people of marginalized genders through their annual gender-focused hackathons. TechTogether is credited in part with increasing the gender diversity of the hackathon community by 18% from 2019 to 2020.
Last year alone, TechTogether hosted 5 hackathons across the country and reached over 2,600 individuals This year, they have decided to open two new chapters to expand their reach in the United States, one of them in our city of Miami, FL.
How does this relate to me being a student at FIU’s KFSCIS?
TechTogether Miami aims to increase the gender diversity of the emerging Florida hackathon community, and broader tech community. On average, 55% of participants at TechTogether hackathons have never attended a hackathon before. TechTogether Miami like TechTogether’s other chapters will serve as a gateway for people of marginalized genders into FIU’s computer science programs and honor societies like Upsilon Pi Epsilon (UPE).
As the Director of TechTogether Miami, I know that this program will make a difference for my community. For the high school and college students in Florida, this could be the program that could make a difference in what direction their career and academic journey goes in. I’ve heard many stories about TechTogether encouraging hackers to change their major to computer science or encouraged them to pursue a different career path.
If you want to be a part of seeing this change take place, I encourage you to apply to join TechTogether Miami. The program is a great fit if you’re like me and you want to advance your career, while making a difference.
To learn more about the program and apply, visit: www.techtogether.io/organize. The deadline to apply to the Chapter Program is April 30th, 2021. Applications will be reviewed and accepted on a rolling basis. We already have some awesome FIU students accepted into the program!
Written by: Danay Fernandez Alfonso