Preliminary findings of a gender and diversity screening at a technical university: impressions of the project “IGaDtools4MINT”

Abstract

In the paper at hand the project design of “IGaDtools4MINT”, a research project aiming to promote gender and diversity aspects as well as an opening of the faculty culture of computer science, is introduced. A first approximation on the reasons why women tend to study computer science and other MINT/STEM-subjects far less often than men will be given. Moreover, results of an initial survey of first semester students of computer science and impressions of a qualitative participant observation of different introductory courses of computer science at RWTH Aachen University are interpreted and discussed. The results of the evaluation allow for the assumption that efforts for the creation of a gender and diversity friendly environment which is a basic factor for the attraction of non-traditional, diverse students are visible but that these efforts to a large extent lack a coherent strategy and gender and diversity sensitivity to contribute to a sustainable structural and cultural change process within the department of computer science.