ChickTech: For Students

ChickTech provides opportunities and a supportive community to female-identifying students in order to broaden participation in tech and provide equitable opportunities to all.

ChickTech believes that providing access to technology career opportunities to girls and young women is critical, both to the industry and to their lives. Our future is being shaped by technology every day, and girls and women deserve an equal say. From summer camps to our year-long high school program to our new college program, our programs provide a supportive and welcoming environment for girls and women to learn, create, and do while surrounded by mentors and friends.

Portland 2015 High School Kickoff. Photo by Wojtek Rajski.

Seattle 2016 High School Kickoff. Photo by Wojtek Rajski.

Portland 2013 High School Kickoff. Photo by Todd Kulesza.

Corvallis 2013 High School Kickoff. Photo by Todd Kulesza.

Portland 2014 High School Kickoff. Photo by Wojtek Rajski.

Portland 2013 High School Kickoff. Photo by Todd Kulesza.

Student Programs

ChickTech: High School

ChickTech: High School is a year-long series of opportunities for a cohort of 100 high school girls in each city, including mentoring and hands-on workshops.

We’ve found that too many high school girls have never been provided with the opportunity to create technology projects…and that given the chance, what they create is amazing! ChickTech: High School broadens the tech pipeline by finding high school girls with untapped tech potential and providing them with workshops, mentoring, and other opportunities to get more engaged with the tech industry.

Learn More!

ChickTech: Rural

35% of rural Americans have no access to broadband, compared to 3% in urban areas.[1] This digital divide not only affects the ability of rural Americans to use technology–it also affects their ability to create it.

We believe all girls deserve a chance to experience the excitement of creating a robot, website, or 3D printed item! Through workshops, After-School Clubs, and School Kits, ChickTech’s rural initiatives provide girls and teachers from across the country with national community support, resources and materials, and a network of partnerships to help girls excel in and out of the classroom on their path to a technology career.

[1] The digital divide between rural and urban America’s access to internet, CBS News, 4 Aug., 2017

Learn More!

ChickTech: College

Women earn only 18% of undergraduate computer and information sciences degrees.[2] Because of this, women in computing fields often feel isolated, inferior, and like they don’t belong.

ChickTech: College, a program being piloted 2017/2018 in partnership with Portland State University, will connect women STEM majors with informal peer and industry mentors, internships, and give-back opportunities. Our goal is that this program will increase community and women’s ability to be successful in a technology career. Interested in getting involved or learning more? Contact Janel Hull: [email protected]

[2] Girls in IT: The Facts Infographic, National Center for Women & Information Technology.

Robotics Boot Camps

In partnership with Oregon Robotics Tournament and Outreach Program (ORTOP), ChickTech will create and run a week-long robotics boot camp to increase the number of girls participating in FIRST Robotics in middle school and high school.

34% of participants in FIRST Robotics programs are female, this camp will increase participants’ confidence in their abilities and provide them with a city-wide community of female peers as they enter FIRST programs in the 2018/2019 school year.

Portland Middle School Summer Camp

Each summer, Portland OR volunteers run a weeklong summer camp to engage middle school girls with technology.

With projects ranging from 3D printing to Javascript to Arduinos, our middle school summer camp is fun, affordable, and empowering. Interested in learning more, getting involved, or signing up your daughter? Please contact Danielle Hubbard at [email protected].

Caption. Photo by Jane Doe.