The STARS Celebration of Broadening Participation in Computing is an annual conference for college students and faculty who are interested in taking action for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the field of computing.
The STARS Celebration conference program features sessions on best practices for broadening participation of historically excluded groups in computing that can be adopted by faculty and students in college computing departments, hands-on training workshops for faculty and students interested in leading computer science outreach programs for K-12 students using inclusive practices, and a poster session highlight student and faculty contributions to advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and access in computing and socially relevant computing research. In addition, the conference includes tech talks, career exploration and professional development sessions, and networking opportunities to support student and faculty advancement.
The STARS Celebration conference also serves to support the STARS Computing Corps (STARS) community. STARS is an NSF-funded alliance of more than 50 colleges and universities with a mission to develop college students and faculty as leaders who broaden participation in computing of those who identify as a woman, Black, Hispanic, Latinx, Chicanx, person with a disability, and intersections thereof. STARS student members take an active role in broadening participation in computing and develop their technical skills by leading service learning projects, including near-peer outreach that introduces K-12 students to computing as well as within-department peer tutoring, mentoring, and research collaborations.
The STARS Celebration welcomes existing members of the STARS Computing Corps, as well as newcomers! Anyone who is interested in in learning about how to take action and connect to national resources for broadening participation in computing are welcome.