SheTek and Rutgers School of Business–Camden Partner to Educate Female Workforce in AI
By Steve Sears
Princeton-based SheTek, a nonprofit organization that aims to empower and mentor women seeking careers in technology, has partnered with the Rutgers School of Business–Camden, with the shared goal of assisting students in developing their employment and technology skills.
The partnership’s first offered program is a five-week AI Essentials Bootcamp, which will begin after Labor Day weekend. The program came together in the spring, after SheTek held a panel discussion on AI in which Monica Adya, dean of the Rutgers School of Business–Camden, was a participant.
SheTek was founded in 2021 as an educational offshoot of PamTen (Princeton), an 17-year-old IT services company. Chaya Pamula is the founder of SheTek, as well as cofounder, president and CEO of PamTen.
According to a the SheTek press release, the course “will cover Generative AI tools, using AI responsibly, and how to get the most from AI queries. There will be weekly live meetings as well as the online coursework. Additionally, students participate in presentation skills, communication, and leadership courses, supported by experienced professionals. Resume reviews and mock interviews will provide key feedback and guidance as the class takes their skills into their career field. Each student will have a mentor to assist them moving forward.”
Upon their successful completion of the bootcamp, the participants will receive a Google AI Essentials Certification, as well as a certificate from SheTek/Rutgers Business School–Camden.
Other technology-based courses will be offered in the future, on topics such as data analytics, cybersecurity and project management.
Adya said of the partnership, “Both Chaya and I come from tech backgrounds. Both of us have been very passionate about women’s participation in tech careers, and that is really where a common bond started with Chaya when we were originally introduced. Since then, as we have continued to grow some of our engagement, the alignment of our missions is very, very important.”
Those missions include a commitment to accessible and inclusive education, which entails preparing students (especially women) for the workforce by using a holistic approach.
Adya added, “Women have been underrepresented in tech careers for a long time. I think that a meeting of the minds, meeting of the missions, has really come together well. And this is just the beginning. We are hoping this will be a good, strong partnership.”
Job readiness is important to SheTek and to the Rutgers School of Business–Camden. “It is very important for us to make some partnerships to be successful in this,” said Pamula. “We want to be able to find the sources, and also be able to give them [the students] the training and the tools they need, and then have relationships with corporate, so we can place them.”
The AI Essentials Bootcamp is made possible through a generous donation from Metropolitan Commercial Bank (New York) in support of diversity and the advancement of women in technology fields.
“Metropolitan Commercial Bank is proud to support SheTek’s programs that increase women’s participation in technology-related industries,” said Mark R. DeFazio, the bank’s president and CEO. “We are particularly grateful to SheTek’s board members, Chaya Pamula and Maria Ramirez [SheTek’s treasurer]. Through their efforts, they have created mentorships, partnerships and job opportunities for women. As a company, MCB embraces these initiatives and believes they are vital to the success of our organization.”
Pamula added, “We are so fortunate that Metropolitan Commercial Bank is sponsoring the fees for all of the students who are eligible to take part in the program.”
Over 50 students applied for the initial bootcamp. All the programs at the Rutgers School of Business–Camden are open to every Rutgers student and to any student in the region.
Adya said, “Even as we build out these programs with SheTek, they are promoted to all our students. We, Rutgers–Camden and SheTek, at this stage have a very strong partnership, and the next steps are pretty clear. My understanding and what I would estimate at this time is we first build up this partnership to a place where it is quite stable, and then start opening up to other areas.”
Pamula noted that “Monica is probably the first one who has taken that leap for this kind of partnership, and kudos to her for believing in SheTek’s mission. This is going to be a true partnership because you are talking academia and then you are talking about industrial experience. We are bringing it together, and also complementing it through mentorship; and not only that, but creating communities around them, so that they can have that confidence to constantly receive the guidance as they are moving ahead.”
