init (together) at UC Irvine, 2013

Janet Hansen:  Crafting Wearable Technology

University of California, Irvine

April 14, 2013

Janet Hansen was an invited speaker at the init(together) conference at UC Irvine, which featured a series of panel discussions, speakers, and hands-on workshops for women seeking to develop their skills in computing.

Janet talked about her experiences building Enlighted Designs Inc., and lit up a variety of lighted clothing samples that she brought along with her.

Excerpt from the conference website:

The name 'init(together)' embodies the purpose of this conference in a brief technical phrase. 'init,' short for 'initialize,' symbolizes the beginning of a new generation of women starting their careers in computing. Combined, init(together) signifies women beginning their computing careers with the support of mentors, with peers as collaborators and most importantly: connected together as an active and vibrant community.

This year is the first init(together) conference, started by Women in Information and Computer Sciences (WICS) with the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences. This conference was created with the vision of bringing together a community of the new generation of women in computing under the guidance of the many active groups of women in tech in Southern California. We hope to inspire women to confidently pursue jobs and internships, start their own tech projects, engage in computing challenges or competitions, and openly collaborate with their peers and mentors.