Membership
Who Can Join Hispanotech?
The expected response is that Hispanotech is an association of "Hispanics in Technology", and that was in fact the intent back in 2008-09, when the idea of Hispanotech was forming in our Founders' minds.
However, Hispanotech and the workplace have evolved over the years, and we are also conscious of the added responsibilities placed on our association as a leading PIN (Professional Immigrant Network) in Canada. So this article tries to explain how we approach this question.
So Who Can Join?
The short answer is ANYBODY can join. We do welcome Members from every background and ethnicity, for three simple reasons:
- This is Canada, and everybody is welcome!
- As an association of immigrants, we are well aware of the pain caused by discrimination, so the last thing we should do ourselves is discriminate.
- Canadian society and workplaces are made up of people from all over the world, and we can all learn a lot from each other.
However...
Being a self-funded, 100% volunteer not-for-profit association we have limited resources, so we do target our activities to provide maximum value to Members that fit a typical profile, namely:
- Be committed to making Canada your long-term home, and be authorized to work legally in Canada, preferably with Permanent Resident or Citizen status. Why? Our programs focus on professional networking, job market readiness, and career progression.
- Be born or first generation Latin American. Why? It is easier to relate to a Mentor or role model that shares your background, and possibly even birthplace. However, the immigrant journey tends to be similar for most people, so there is still lots of value for non-Latino Members. Please note that all our programs are conducted in the Queen's English, so don't join just to practice your Spanish!
- Be trained and/or work in a STEM discipline (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). Why? Our educational program emphasizes current and emerging technologies (IoT, AI, ML, Blockchain, Cybersecurity, AR/VR/MR, etc.). Yet, we do realize that nowadays "technology" is embedded in almost every discipline and endeavour, including marketing, business, finance, arts, law, etc.
PINs
Hispanotech is a Professional Immigrant Network (PIN), and there are several other associations with a similar objective serving their own constituencies.
If you don't match the above profile, you could visit the TRIEC PINs directory to check other organizations that may be more applicable to your circumstances. If you don't find one, by all means, do join Hispanotech!
And if in a few months or years you decide to create a new PIN to better serve a constituency, we will be happy to share what we've learned over the last decades. It's a lot of work, but it sure is fulfilling!