IT'S NOW CHIC TO BE GEEK! GIRL GEEKS UNITE IN HULL AND EAST YORKSHIRE

Kingston-upon-Hull, East Yorkshire, 27^th April 2010

So you think that “Geeks” are not cool – that they sit in a cupboard somewhere, tapping away at their computers without a social bone inside them.  Well – if this is your impression of the millenium geeks – females studying Computer Science and who are in the business community in Hull and East Yorkshire will prove you wrong.  As the BBC's Rory Cellan-Jones reported in 2000, it is now "chic to be geek."

HEY! Girl Geek Dinners joins an international community of women who meet regularly at Girl Geek Dinner events to socialise and share their passion of technology, gadgets and science without being put into “social outcast” land.  Women come together to enjoy some food and drink whilst socialising and networking with the city's brightest creatives, technologists, programmers, entrepreneurs, marketeers, PR professionals and digital girls. Men who support women in technology are welcome too, as long as they bring a woman “geek” as well.

The Girl Geek Dinners concept was founded by Sarah Blow, a software engineer for a medical devices company in London, in 2005 after  she attended a conference of 150 and only 7 were women.    These numbers are reflected at the University of Hull with females in the Computer Science department. Amanda Millson, Department of Computer Science, University of Hull confirms saying, "The number of female students who enter into computer science are outnumbered 10 to 1 yet they are performing as well as their male counterparts."

Jasmine Cornes, one of the organisers who is studying computer science tells us, “It's hard being female in a male dominated sector, especially when you need someone to talk to.  HEY! Girl Geek Dinners is about providing that support, connecting with women in business and hopefully, in the future, to go into schools and show girls who are interested in technology AND science, that it is cool and fun!  And that we are not freaks, nerds or dorks.”

The next event is being sponsored by STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) who hope to recruit more ambassadors to their STEM Ambassador program.  Mike Cargill, STEM, “There are lots of young women who enjoy science, technology and engineering but are put off studying it due to the social stigma attached to these subjects.  Female students at the University and women in business, will hopefully creates opportunities to inspire young people, especially girls, in science, technology, engineering and maths.”

The next HEY! Girl Geek Dinner is being held on Tuesday 4^th May at the Koo Bar on Newland Avenue.

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