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The dean of computer science at Dalhousie University says the department hopes to use millions of dollars in newly announced provincial funding to createmore inclusive programs and bolster diversity within the field.

"We see this as an incredible opportunity to really scale up our desire to have broad representation," Andrew Rau-Chaplin said.

Recently, the province announced $16.8 million infundingto help expand and enhance computer science education at four Nova Scotia universities. A large portion of that $13.3 millionhas been offered to Dalhousie.

Rau-Chaplin saiditwill allow the department to do more work to get more under-represented people into the field. That includesforming connections with local organizationssuch asBlack Business Initiative, and bolstering current Dal programs such asWeAreAllCS (We areAll Computer Science).

The WeAreAllCSinitiative started in 2018with thegoal ofdoubling the number of female students coming into the computer science program. Several scholarshipsand co-op opportunities have also been offered through the WeAreAllCSprogram, but Rau-Chaplin saidthere is still more that needs to be done.

"This under-representation is a really difficult societal problem," saidRau-Chaplin."We've made greatprogress but it's going to take a sustained focus. What this funding gives us is the resources and capacityto maintain that focus, to do more outreach and to build links."

A study releasedby the Brookfield Institutein 2019 and called Who are Canada's Tech Workers?found that only2.6 per centof the tech workforce are Black and that Black employees were the lowest paid. Moreover, it showed that only 20 per centare women and only 1.2 per centidentify as Indigenous.

Although Dalhousie researcher and associate professor Rita Orji was recently nationally recognized for her work in the computerscience field, she saidsuccess did not come easy. Orji, who is from Nigeria, saidshe knows first hand what it's liketo be the only person that looks like her in the room at a conference or board meeting.

After interviewing with four other universities prior to finally choosing Dalhousie, Orji said therewere moments when she even questioned herdesire to beprofessor.

"I was terrified. The way theytreated me,it was already like 'you're not welcomed,"said Orji,

Orji said she chose Dalhousie because she felt at home and was treated as an equal and not as someone who is inferior something she said she experienced during other university interviews.

When Orji was awardedthe Outstanding Early-Career Computer Science Researcher Prizeearlier this month she said she was thrilled. The award recognizestop young faculty members in Canadian computer science departments, schools and faculties who are within the first 10years of their career. It's also something Orji never thought she would receive.

"I'm originally from Nigeria, you know, I grew up in a town calledEnugu State, in a village where we actually had neither electricity or piped water."

Orji said she's hopes some of the government funding heading to Dalhousie will be used to pay for thingslike applicationfees andtext books, and help withother monetary barriers thatmay be standing in the way of many minorities entering computer science.

Rau-Chaplin said the moneywill not only help recruit more students from under-represented groups but will also help ensure the curriculum itself is conducive to everyone's learning.

"We're trying to paint a picture that, this large-scale societal problem, we can bean important catalystin addressing it."

It's a step toward not only making Dalhousie's program one of the most highly regarded in Canada, but also changing the computer science landscape, said Rau-Chaplin.

"The future is being built by computer science," said Rau-Chaplin. "So it's becomecritically important that the people that arebuilding those digital systems reflect us all as a whole."

Rau-Chaplin said inequality can't be fixed by donations alone, and Dalhousierecognizes thatthe lack of diversity within STEM and computer science isan ongoing battle.

"This is really going to allow us to be incredibly ambitious," said Rau-Chaplin.

Orji said she looks forward to seeing more under-represented people in the field of computer science."I want to encourage everyone out there. You are good enough. Just do it," she said.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.

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Head of Dal computer science says $13M in funding will help bolster diversity - CBC.ca