Skip to main content

Best of 2014: Launch of Code Crush

Students viewing one of UNO's 3D printers

Students viewing one of UNO's 3D printers

It was a special year for UNO in 2014 with countless events, achievements, special guest visits and national recognitions for students, faculty, staff and alumni.

The University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) College of Information Science and Technology (IS&T)’s Women in IT Initiative announced that it surpassed its goal of raising $400,000 to be used towards encouraging women to invest in information technology education and careers. In addition to raising money for the initiative, IS&T created Code Crush, a unique immersion program for middle and high school girls to discover information technology.

Applications for CodeCrush 2015 are due by January 7, 2015. Learn more.

College of IS&T Welcomes CodeCrush 2014

February-March 2014

Information Technology touches every aspect of our lives: social networks, smart phones, web design, robotics, healthcare, game development, you name it.

But the United States is facing a BIG problem: very few women are pursuing academic and career opportunities in IT. In fact, last year women held only 25% of all computing-related occupations in the U.S. and only 18% of all computing and information science degrees were earned by women. That means a big part of our population is missing and not bringing their diverse perspectives to the world of IT.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that IT will be one of the fastest-growing job sectors, adding nearly 1.4 million jobs by 2020. However, nearly two-thirds of these jobs could go unfilled because there are not enough college graduates with computing-related degrees. We need girls more than ever to help fill this shortage and close the gender gap.

One of the ways that the College of IS&T is answering this need is by offering programs like CodeCrush. CodeCrush is an immersion experience for 8th and 9th grade girls created to show them the world of IT.

From February 26 through March 1, 2014, the UNO College of Information Science and Technology inspires girls and their mentors to take a deeper look at IT through hands-on experiences with emerging IT fields such as bioinformatics, IT innovation, music technology and cybersecurity.

Students and mentors stay on campus and get to experience Omaha through our eyes: checking out the IT departments of global corporations, meeting women professionals who are engaged in IT, visiting the behind-the-scenes of local attractions and even go to a Maverick hockey game. The days will be packed with dinners with IS&T students, staff and faculty, panel discussions with women in the field, as well as lunch with an IT mentor.

For more information on CodeCrush, please click here