Boston University to be TechTogether’s First National Season-Level Sponsor
TechTogether is a national nonprofit organization focused on improving the gender diversity and inclusivity of the hackathon community. TechTogether is most well-known for its large-scale gender-focused hackathons that are run across the country.
Boston University, a long-term sponsor of TechTogether, will be TechTogether’s first season-level sponsor. As a season-level sponsor, Boston University will be supporting all four of TechTogether’s national chapters whose events are credited for increasing the gender diversity of the hackathon community by 16% in the past year.
In partnership with Boston University’s Spark! program, TechTogether will be hosting an additional nation-wide program called PreHacks that will introduce high school students to hackathons and teach them coding fundamentals.
“We believe our partnership with TechTogether will ultimately increase the gender diversity of applicants to Boston University while also contributing to an overall culture of inclusion in the tech industry,” said Ziba Cranmer, the Director of BU Spark! and Boston University’s liaison to TechTogether.
The PreHacks program has been piloted in previous years in conjunction with the Boston TechTogether hackathon and has seen tremendous success in helping funneling high schoolers into the hackathon community and STEM majors.
“I really enjoyed the PreHacks as it familiarized me with the environment of the hackathon. Because I attended, I feel more motivated to learn to code on my own time and come back next year with better skills,” recapped a PreHacks 2019 attendee.
TechTogether was founded by Boston University Alum, Fiona Whittington in 2017.
“The faculty and staff at Boston University continue to play a fundamental role in expanding TechTogether’s impact. It has been an honor to work with a university that is truly invested in achieving gender parity,” Whittington said.
Press Contact:
TechTogether: info@techtogether.io
BU Spark!: edbrown@bu.edu
