NWO Diversity & Inclusion Initiative Award 2025 for Alice & Eve A celebration of women in computing

A fantastic milestone for the Dutch computer science community: the initiative Alice & Eve – a celebration of women in computing has won the prestigious NWO Diversity & Inclusion Initiative Award 2025. This important award recognises initiatives that make a visible impact in the field of diversity and inclusion and that is exactly what Alice & Eve does.

Alice & Eve is a powerful collaboration between the University of Twente, TU Delft and TU Eindhoven. The initiative creates an annual stage for women in computer science and brings their stories into the spotlight, because their contributions to major scientific breakthroughs have often been overlooked. Through an inspiring symposium and both physical and digital exhibitions, the field is presented in all its diversity.

Show, don't tell

Alice & Eve’s motto is show, don’t tell: the initiative demonstrates how extensive and multifaceted the contributions of women in computing truly are. By highlighting the achievements of pioneers such as Ada Lovelace (the first algorithm), Grace Hopper (inventor of the first compiler, which translates software code into computer instructions) and Rosalind Picard, Alice & Eve aims to broaden the public’s perspective so that computer science evokes not only names like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates or Alan Turing, but also the many female icons who shaped the field.

The Alice & Eve exhibition features portraits of 30 women from the Netherlands and abroad, in both physical and digital form. The exhibition travels across the country accompanied by a beautifully designed booklet, giving the visibility of women in computing a powerful boost.

What the jury says

The NWO jury is deeply impressed by how the initiative is spreading across the Netherlands and by the strong collaboration between the universities. According to the committee, Alice & Eve has an “extraordinary impact on its participants” and places strong emphasis not only on gender diversity but also on geographical diversity. The jury describes the initiative as “sustainable, impactful and future-proof.”

With this well-deserved award, the team behind Alice & Eve will be able to inspire even more people in the coming years and contribute to a more inclusive Dutch computer science community.

The winners

The award has been granted to the Alice & Eve steering committee:
prof. dr. Marieke Huisman (University of Twente),
dr. Cynthia Liem (TU Delft),
dr. Sophie Lathouwers (TNO),
dr. Alma Schaafstal (Twente),
prof. dr. Alexander Serebrenik (TU Eindhoven), and
prof. dr. Marielle Stoelinga (Twente).