HackHer413 Holds Networking Event, Plans Hackathon for February

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Top (left to right): Nila Abirami Sadeeshkumar, Disha Srivastava, Vindhya Rachur, Sarah Manlove, Alicia Bochnak, Bottom (left to right): Maryam Mullenix, Erika Dawson Head, Katie House, Gabriella Mingozzi
Top (left to right): Nila Abirami Sadeeshkumar, Disha Srivastava, Vindhya Rachur, Sarah Manlove, Alicia Bochnak Bottom (left to right): Maryam Mullenix, Erika Dawson Head, Katie House, Gabriella Mingozzi

HackHer413, a UMass Amherst group organizing an all-women and non-binary student hackathon on campus in 2020, recently hosted a Boston Women in Tech & Allies Networking Mixer at the Wayfair headquarters in Boston.

Approximately 200 people attended the event, which was intended to provide students and industry professionals a chance to network, learn about opportunities at Boston companies, explore the different fields of technology, and make connections in the city. Speakers included Akanksha Jain-Taylor, international supply chain manager for Wayfair; and Renu Chipalkatti, who received her master’s degree in computer science from UMass Amherst and is the former head of consumer product innovation and insights at Verizon.

HackHer413 will be hosting a hackathon on campus on Feb. 8-9 in the Business Innovation Hub at the Isenberg School of Management. Over the course of 24 hours, hackathon participants are encouraged to learn and develop new technical skills, network with sponsor company representatives and innovate with passion. The event is entirely student organized and aims to increase diversity and inclusion in the technology industry. Chipalkatti will return as the keynote speaker at the hackathon.

Affiliated with the College of Information and Computer Sciences, the HackHer413 student group held its first hackathon in February 2018 with support from the college and over a dozen corporate sponsors. The group aims to increase diversity and inclusion in the technology industry. 

More information on the hackathon can be found at www.hackher413.com.