On 20 March, 2018, the first Women in Big Data chapter in Australia was launched at a ceremony in the Members Private Dining Room of the Australian Parliament House.

Speakers included Senator the Honorable Jane Hume,  Chair of Economics Legislation Committee, and Professor Elanor Huntington, Dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, Australian National University.

This was a great opportunity to understand more about WiBD and how the group will operate, to hear two women who are leaders in the field of Industry, Innovation and Technology, and at the same time network and meet other people interested in data science.

Charter members of the Canberra chapter include:

Jane Alexander (region/chapter lead), Business Development Manager, Leidos Australia

Professor Kerry Taylor, Research School of Computer Science, Australian National University

Katrina Pilcher, ACT Regional Manager, Altis Consulting Group

Kathie MacKay, General Manager, Sales, Canberra Data Centre

Nikki Schroder, Unit Head, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Now that we’re started, watch for more information coming soon. And please visit www.womeninbigdata.org to learn more.

And special thanks to our sponsors for enabling us to hold a fully catered event at this great venue:

• Leidos
• Qlik
• Cloudera
• ANU
• Canberra Data Centre
• Altis Consulting