PALO ALTO, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 12/12/12 -- The Anita Borg Institute (ABI), a non-profit organization focused on the advancement of women in computer science and engineering, in conjunction with ACM India, will present the third annual Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing India (GHCI) in Bangalore on December 12-14, 2012. It is the largest gathering of technical women in India. Also held annually in the U.S., the event features tracks focused on new and emerging technologies, career development, and innovation and entrepreneurship.

This year's GHCI theme "Beyond Boundaries" recognizes that individuals must be willing to cross cultural and technological boundaries for innovation to take place. The event provides a host of unique opportunities and firsts for women in the high technology industry in India, whether they are established women or those just entering the field. For example, ABI, in collaboration with ThoughtWorks Social Impact Program and Yahoo!, will host India's first ever women-only Hackathon, providing women a platform to collaborate and write code on Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), while contributing to humanitarian projects. There will also be a Women Entrepreneur Quest with six finalists selected from over 63 entries who will pitch their start-up companies to venture capital leaders, angel investors and other serial entrepreneurs.

The three day event will feature 120 speakers, presenters and workshop leaders, including industry leaders Kirthiga Reddy (Director Online Operations, Facebook India), Nora Denzel (Technical Executive and Corporate Board Member), Raji Arasu (CTO, StubHub), Meena Ganesh (Promoter and Board Member, TutorVista; CEO and MD, Pearson Education Services) and many others. GHCI will also host a career fair for students where they can meet sponsoring company representatives, apply for jobs or internships, and network with other peers in the industry.

The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing India is sponsored by 24 leading technology companies that include: Founding Sponsor: Google and Gold Corporate Sponsors: Cisco, Microsoft, NetApp.

ABI continues to expand its reach, programs and efforts globally. "The Anita Borg Institute strives to inform and empower women in high technology positions all across the globe," said Telle Whitney, president and CEO of the Anita Borg Institute. "We are thrilled with the success of the Grace Hopper Celebration India because it provides a wonderful forum for technical women in this region of the world to come together and share technical and career information that will help them advance their careers and deliver more innovative solutions for their companies."

Co-founded by Dr. Anita Borg and Dr. Telle Whitney in 1994 and inspired by the legacy of Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, the Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC) of Women in Computing is a conference designed to bring the research and career interests of women in computing to the forefront.

About The Anita Borg Institute (ABI)
The Anita Borg Institute provides resources and programs to help industry, academia, and government recruit, retain, and develop women leaders in high-tech fields, resulting in higher levels of technological innovation. Their programs serve high-tech women by creating a community and providing tools to help them develop their careers. The Anita Borg Institute is a not-for-profit 501(c) 3 charitable organization. Partners include: Google, HP, Microsoft, Amazon, CA Technologies, Cisco, Dell, Facebook, First Republic Bank, IBM, Intel, Intuit, Juniper Networks, Lockheed Martin, Marvell, National Science Foundation, National Security Agency, NetApp, Salesforce.com, SAP, Symantec, Thomson Reuters, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Broadcom, EMC2, Neustar, Raytheon, VentureLoop and Yahoo! For more information, visit www.anitaborg.org.

Follow the Grace Hopper Celebration on Twitter at @ghc or #GHCIN.

Follow the Anita Borg Institute on Twitter at @anitaborg_org

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