Initiatives for Women at UAlbany

Initiatives For Women (IFW), a UAlbany organization, supports women affiliated with the university and our broader community by providing them the means to advance their educational and professional goals. Three doctoral students who received IFW awards (Mary Avery, Katie Baronowski, and Dwi Sari), share their experiences and the impact of this support in this Q&A style blog. 

How did you hear about IFW?

Dwi: Through a broadcast email to Information Science Ph.D. students. The email was titled “Call for Submissions IFW Awards,” and was sent by Dr. Carol Anne Germain, an associate teaching professor in the Department of Information Science and Technology who also serves as chair for Initiatives for Women.
Mary: My advisor encouraged me to apply to IFW. The application typically opens every Spring semester, around March.

How has IFW helped you in your academic and professional career?

Dwi: IFW helped support my travel to present a dissertation-related project at the Digital Government Doctoral Consortium. This opportunity allows me to complete my dissertation as I presented my project to a diverse group of international senior scholars and fellow doctoral students. Engaging with them allowed me to critically assess the strengths and weaknesses of my project while also learning about the latest trends and developments.
Mary: IFW has helped me compensate people to participate in lab-based experiments. This significantly speeds up data collection and allows me to conduct more experiments, answer new questions, etc. 
Katie: The IFW allowed me to attend a research software engineering workshop on software design, collaborative git, pull requests, code review, licensing, documentation, testing, CI/CD, packaging and distribution. 

What are the qualifications for the specific award(s) you received?

Mary: I am a recipient of the Karen R. Hitchcock New Frontier’s Fund, which is specifically endowed for “doctoral-level female students who show great promise of making a positive, transformational difference in our society”. There are many named or endowed awards intended to fund certain kinds of projects.  
Katie: I received the Women in Technology award, that requires the applicant be a UAlbany student, faculty or staff member who is pursuing studies or advancement in a computer technology field, along with the preference that the recipient demonstrates an interest in women’s issues or equality for women by participating in social groups, clubs or community activities that support this.

Aside from the funds themselves, have there been any other indirect benefits you’ve experienced?   

Dwi: Being selected as one of the IFW awardees provided me with credibility, which can strengthen my resume and further support my future career. 
Mary: At IFW’s Summer Celebration ceremony, when award recipients are recognized, it is gratifying to meet the donors, who are wholly invested in making a real difference for women. The process also develops skills in applying to grants; even if I hadn’t received anything, I learned a lot about how to put together an effective application 
Katie: The greatest indirect benefit I experienced was the connections I made with other PhD students from across the world and in various programs.  This helped me widen my network.

Is there anything else you’d like to share about IFW?  

Dwi: IFW not only benefits students who attend and present their work at a conference but also provides the opportunity for broader faculty and staff at the University at Albany to support their projects, research, or training in diverse fields.
Katie: The last thing I would like to share about IFW is that you should apply even if you aren’t a woman, but you conduct research that is related to women as you can still get an award to support your research!

Interested in learning more about our experiences? Reach us at [email protected]