New Research Project funded by Novo Nordisk Foundation: NeuroGenComputing: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in Computer Science: Bridging Gender and Neurodiversity. 11.300.000 DKK, Grant number: NNF25SA0103747
Women leave computer science at twice the turnover rate of men. Neurodivergent people have an increased risk of dropping out of education due to isolation and burnout. Neurodiversity manifests differently across genders, and until recently, neurodiverse women in computing have been ignored. Late-diagnosed women are the fastest-growing category of newly diagnosed university students. We need new DEI approaches that bridge gender and neurodiversity in computer science.
Our long-term vision is to reduce the risk of isolation, stigma, and burnout for neurodivergent computer science students with intersecting diversity dimensions. We will create enabling organizational conditions for diverse students to thrive while at the university and prepare them for a successful career afterward.
To achieve this vision, we will
1) Design and create a robust infrastructure in which data, knowledge and information on disability and accessibility can be used.
2) Develop, implement, and scale novel computer science teaching in the first-year computer science bachelor’s program.
3) Create, implement, and anchor novel bachelor’s/Master thesis supervision tools supporting interaction between students and supervisors displaying diverse neurotype constellations.
Over 4 years – starting September 2025, researchers from DIKU will extend the current FemTech research program from gender to include intersections between gender and neurodiversity in computing. The idea for this research project emerged from empirical data focusing on gender in computing, where issues of accessibility and neurodiversity were pertinent. Thus, this research project extends current work from Valeria Borsotti’s PhD thesis and Jenny Margrethe Vej’s MSc thesis.