In collaboration with NFiTS and the CTF teams RedRocket and Fluxfingers, the Cluster of Excellence CASA, MPI-SP, Cube 5, and G DATA CyberDefense AG organized the workshop "Creative.Minds - Cyber Security Workshop for Women" from March 22 to 24 in Bochum. The weekend workshop on web security took place for the second time and was aimed at young women between 16 and 25 years old with an interest in computer science and web technology, as well as curiosity about IT security. By solving three challenges during the application phase, 23 participants from all over Germany secured their spot in the workshop.
Diverse Program and Insights into Career Paths
Once again this year, participants at Creative.Minds experienced a diverse program where fun was not in short supply, and that once again inspired many young women for the IT sector. The trainers Johanna and Gina, themselves members of CTF teams, gave the participants a comprehensive introduction to web security and "Capture the Flag" competitions - and above all passed on their enthusiasm for the topics. There was also plenty of opportunity for the participants to get to know each other and make valuable contacts.
In a session on Friday afternoon, experts from academia and industry shared their career experiences in the field of IT security – describing where their professional journey began and how they found their own path:
- Prof. Dr. Katharina Kohls, Chair for Systems Security, Ruhr University Bochum
- Elisabeth Krahmer, Chair for Security Engineering, Ruhr University Bochum
- Dr. Simone Böttger, Elektrobit Automotive GmbH
- Dr. Charlotte Weitkämper, Federal Office for Information Security
- Dr. Clara Schneidewind, Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy
Their lessons learned and the small and large decisions that shaped their career paths were particularly valuable for the participants.
Many thanks to all participants, organizers, and sponsors of the workshop!
General note: In case of using gender-assigning attributes we include all those who consider themselves in this gender regardless of their own biological sex.