google anita borg memorial scholarship - my story

December 2, 2013

Google Anita Borg Scholarship

- What ?- My story: why ?- My story: how ?- Start the application

Oana Tifrea-Marciuska

“ Leaders of the future will have to be visionary and be able to bring people in -

real communicators. These are things that women bring to leadership and executive positions, and it's going to be incredibly

valuable and incredibly in demand.”

Anita Borg

December 2, 2013The Google Anita BorgScholarship WorkshopOana Tifrea-Marciuska

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What ?

Be a female student currently

enrolled at a university for the

2013-2014 AY in CS

Intend to be enrolled in or

accepted as a full-time student in

a Bachelor's, Master's or PhD

program at a university in Europe,

the Middle East or Africa for the

2014-2015 academic year

Recipients will each receive

a € 7,000 for the '14-'15 AY

Finalists and recipients can

attend an annual Google

networking retreat in 2014.

CONDITIONS PRIZE

December 2, 2013The Google Anita BorgScholarship WorkshopOana Tifrea-Marciuska

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MY STORY: WHY ?

Curiosity ( try and lets see what follows)

Money

Am I good enough ?

- impostor syndrome

- how are the others?

How will I answer if I get these questions in an interview?

Know myself better

I was convinced by a friend

December 2, 2013The Google Anita BorgScholarship WorkshopOana Tifrea-Marciuska

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MY STORY: CV and RECOMMENDATION?

Strong CS backgrund

- Contests / Awards

- Good marks

- Good referees

- Some work experience

Extracurricular

- volunteer

- society ( e.g. OxWoCS)

- open source

- some life besides CS

I heard it might matter

Finalist

Got it :)

December 2, 2013The Google Anita BorgScholarship WorkshopOana Tifrea-Marciuska

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MY STORY: TECHNICAL ESSAYS

I asked non CS and CS to proof read it

- we tend to minimize ourselves

I did not get too technical and when necessary I inserted links

- we might think everybody knows some concepts

I added my own style (added quotes on the motivation)

What I did

December 2, 2013The Google Anita BorgScholarship WorkshopOana Tifrea-Marciuska

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MY STORY: TECHNICAL ESSAYS

- Motivation:

- Why is this an important problem?

- Why is it a hard problem?

- How would it change the world?

- What is the big challenge?

- Goal and methodology

- What is innovative in my solution?

Keep It Simple for readers, they have little time per application.

Structure

December 2, 2013The Google Anita BorgScholarship WorkshopOana Tifrea-Marciuska

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MY STORY: OTHER ESSAYS ?

- I read some articles if it is a new topic

- e.g.,I did some research regarding the qualities of leaders

and I analyze if I have them

- I underlined in the essay the keywords that define the answer

- I tried to combine what I read with who I was

- I tried to show what makes me unique

- I tried to show my passion and personality

Ask for proof reading.

December 2, 2013The Google Anita BorgScholarship WorkshopOana Tifrea-Marciuska

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Example ...

December 2, 2013The Google Anita BorgScholarship WorkshopOana Tifrea-Marciuska

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AFTER

Boost confidence

Great retreat

- training

- lots of food

- great accommodation

- networking (e.g. retreat )

- promotion (poster session)

Money helped

Looks good in the CV

December 2, 2013The Google Anita BorgScholarship WorkshopOana Tifrea-Marciuska

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LETS START

http://www.google.com/anitaborg/emea/

Make account

December 2, 2013The Google Anita BorgScholarship WorkshopOana Tifrea-Marciuska

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Thank you

Contact oana.tifrea at cs.oc.ac.uk

uk.linkedin.com/in/oanatifrea/