Girls & ICT: Lifelong learning and proactivity open the door to ICT for social scientists

(český překlad článku pro vás připravujeme)

Through a series of events, three national digital coalitions, Slovakian, Czech and Slovenian, are raising awareness and encouraging young people, especially young girls, about the opportunities offered by digitalisation, digital transformation and the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector in general.

The first in a series of international webinars was joined by 6 experts with inspiring stories: they found their careers and numerous opportunities for growth in the field of ICT, although not all interlocutors come from the natural sciences and technology. Given the interesting discussion and many questions of the participants of the online event, the desired goal was achieved; to stimulate discussion and showcase the diverse employment, career and study opportunities in ICT brought by the digital transformation of European society.

Aida Kamišalić Latifić – Female Engineer of the Year 2019 (SI), Tanja Bivic Plankar – President of Blockchain Alliance Europe (SI), Eva Pavlíková – Česko.digital (CZ), Eva Nečasová – AI for Children (CZ), Zuzana Molčanová – Microsoft Head of Education for Industry (SK), and Lenka Hlinková – Female Algorithm (SK) briefly presented their career paths and challenges and afterwards joined the discussion with the participants. In three different rooms, Slovak, Czech and Slovenian, the Q&A sessions were focused on opportunities in the field of ICT and the exchange of experiences of interlocutors, their observations and good practices. Although the conversations took place separately, they were connected by a common thought; if we never stop learning, with proactivity, curiosity and moderation to solve challenges, we can easily use our formally acquired, also social science knowledge, in the field of ICT.

Despite the fact that the Girls & ICT event addressed mainly women, some men also joined it and with their presence additionally stimulated the reflection on bringing the topic of girls and women in ICT to the male audience.