On the occasion of February 11, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, IMDEA Software and the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Informáticos (ETSIInf.) at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid organized the joint event “Rewriting Code: Women and Girls in Science”, held in the ETSIInf. auditorium at the Montegancedo campus. The event was also supported by the Spanish Institute for Women and the UPM Equality Office.
The event brought together 75 attendees, including 4th-year secondary education and high school students from IES Francisco Umbral. The aim was to showcase the work of women researchers in software and to provide female role models in STEM fields. The session began with welcome remarks by Ricardo Imbert, Director of ETSIInf.; Manuel Carro, Director of IMDEA Software; and Mercedes González, UPM Vice-Rector for Equality and Diversity. They emphasized the importance of promoting initiatives that bring research closer to younger generations and highlighted examples of pioneering women in various scientific fields.
This was followed by a roundtable discussion moderated by researcher Clara Benac, featuring Susana Muñoz Hernández (ETSIInf., TEDECO and Babel research groups), María del Carmen Suárez de Figueroa Baonza (ETSIInf., Ontology Engineering Group and specialist in Cognitive Accessibility), Alessandra Gorla (Associate Research Professor at IMDEA Software), and Marta Berrocal-Lobo (ETSIMontes, coordinator of the Educational Innovation Group that created the UPM virtual laboratories platform). During the discussion, the speakers shared their personal and professional journeys and explained what their day-to-day work as scientists involves.
After a short break, the program continued with three hands-on workshops: Can technology help us age in a healthy way?, led by Elena Villalba and Marta Iglesias (Centro de Tecnología Biomédica CTB, Ageing Lab); Baking the Perfect Cake: From Formal Software Verification to Hardware Physical Security, delivered by Daniela Ferreiro and Elvira Moreno, PhD researchers at IMDEA Software; and Why Would a Girl Choose to Study Computer Science?, facilitated by Lucy, Julie, Stephany, Thais and Irene from the ETSIInf. Student Delegation. The workshops were designed to present real-world applications of technology and to address students’ questions about potential career paths in STEM.
We hope the event sparked scientific curiosity among the attendees and that, in the coming years, we may see some of them pursuing careers in scientific fields such as software research.
