WINI Receives a Thank-You

April 25, 2007 - On Thursday, the INI honored the Woman at INI student organization (WINI) with a reception in the Danforth Lounge. During the 2006-2007 academic year, WINI assisted the INI by participating in campus events, as well as attracting, maintaining and nurturing outreach programs in the community. Among its efforts, WINI devoted time to teaching Internet safety in Pittsburgh through its work at "Tech Nights" with children in Squirrel Hill and by organizing educational programs with the Homeless Children Education Fund.

At the reception, Dena Haritos Tsamitis, Director of the INI and Director of Education, Training and Outreach for CyLab, thanked the participants for their work and for enhancing a sense of community at the INI. Graduating students received special recognition, followed by a chance to speak a few words about their INI experience. Several graduating students expressed appreciation for the variety of coursework available to them and the personal treatment they received from INI staff members.

This year's graduating class broke records in the number of women students enrolled, with women representing roughly 30 percent. Tsamitis emphasized the importance of continuing to foster a welcoming environment for students at the INI and in the information networking field in general, particularly for women, who have been traditionally underrepresented.    

WINI was founded in September 2006 and works to promote gender and cultural equality and diversity, both within and beyond the INI. The organization is currently actively involved in outreach projects to create public awareness of cyber threats, cyber security and safe computing practices. 

Gallery

Click on thumbnail for a printable image.

Wini Group 2007

Wini Group, Dena Haritos Tsamitis and Staff 2007