WiM-Networking Banquet

Women in Mathematics (WiM) Networking banquet was held at the end of the 2nd and final day of ICWM 2014 to celebrate the gathering of women in mathematics from around the world.  During the banquet, some of the main women mathematics organizations around the world were introduced to support networking activities.  The organizations introduced were AWM (Asociation for Women in Mathematics), EWM (European Women in Mathematics), AWMA (African Women in Mathematics), KWMS (Korean Women in Mathematical Sciences), and IMU-WiM (Women in Mathematics).

WISET Mentoring

If you look carefully at the WiM-Networking Banquet photographs, you can notice the interns with the yellow shirt and some rather young faces of boys an girls at most tables.  The yellow shirted intern volunteers were undergraduate and graduate college students and the young faces belonged to high school students. The female high school students were recommended by the Center for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology (WISET) and the Korean Mathematical Society (KMS).  All the students (mentees), high school, undergraduate and graduate students were seated together with ICWM 2014 attendees (mentors) to give them the opportunity to see, hear and talk with women in mathematics from around the world. The whole mentoring program was designed to provide both mentors and mentees with an unique experience in networking!

After the banquet, both mentors and mentees were asked to fill out a brief questionnaire to assess the quality of this unique networking/mentoring experience.  The results of the survey showed that both mentors and mentees were very positive about this unique opportunity.

Some Written Comments from the Questionnaire:

• The networking will help mathematicians, especially woman, improving the career of math. The developing countries should feel the benefit.
  
  

• It will be great if this organization can be able to sponsor one young woman in each hosting countries institution, the sponsorship should be in any level. The choice will be beneficial if it is given to a young woman from a developing country. With experience being from Africa I found my self doing all my academic levels in the same institution due to not finding funding, this in true and academic sense its not healthy for me but due to lack of funds to send my self outside the country and continent I live with it.
  
  

• ICWM-Networking is very useful event. Here with women mathematicians from all around world. We met and discussed not only mathematics but problems of women regarding mathematics. I hope that ICWM will arrange this type of events in future.
  
  

• It is a great experience, it's very beautiful to find another womens with do and work in mathematics, I hope this kind of things would repeat. Thank you!!!^_^.
  
  

• I am highschool student, but many professor and mathematicians were using high level English. In addition, Their topics were very difficult. Please translate.
  
  

• This program provided a platform for useful exchange of ideas. I had an opportunity to meet women colleagues from different parts of the world.
  
  

• I could not understand at all, but I was really inspired by enthusiastic atmosphere from people all over the world!
  
  

• I think ICWM-Networking will be benefit for all women who wish to purse mathematical studies, since their first year in university, especially in underdeveloped countries where it is very difficult to access to this new technology. ICWM-Networking is a real opportunity.
  
  

• I hope it would be longer to talk and share our opinions more.