Tech Inspired

Meet Andrea, who is a Cyber Security Consultant at Detecon. Without a technological background or role models in her family, she discovered her fascination for technology during her studies.  What is it about Cyber Security that hooked her from the beginning? The main goal of Cyber Security is to reduce the risks to have a profitable business case. There is always the question to ponder: what is the current threat landscape versus where is protection needed and feasible. You see, it never gets boring as the field is constantly changing. Andrea’s free advice in a nutshell for getting started in a new area or following a new interest. Everyone is new with the new technologies, even the ones already working in technology, so do not hesitate to get started in the field of your interest. Listen to this episode to hear the best advice Andrea has ever gotten during her Design Thinking stint at Stanford and what she makes of it.

Meet Sofia, who works as a Cyber Security Specialist at Roche Diagnostics Europe.  Do you wonder what a day in the life of a cyber security specialist looks like? Well, Sofia shares some questions and concepts she deals with on a daily base. For example, did you ever think about the security of medical devices used by your doctor to diagnose a health issue? My guess is, not many of us do that. The good thing is, we very seldom have to because Sofia and her colleagues are always thinking some steps ahead and trying to understand the mind of people with criminal intentions and what they could plan to hack medical devices to gather very personal information about us. Listen to this episode to hear more about her experiences during her career so far. Let us share just one insight here: Asking never hurts! That’s how she got the chance to do her Master Thesis at Roche, which later led to a job offer.

Meet this group of inspiring women talking about the important topic of "Knowing your worth". Listen to this episode if you enjoy hearing diverse ways to handle (work and life) situations where you doubt your worth. Meet... ... Lisa – Software Developer at Esri with a passion for sustainability and future cities ... Yanira – Head of Customer Experience at Migros Online, UX expert and team lead ... Jessica – Innovation Project Lead at Logitech Gaming, previously training as an aerospace engineer and experience in developing drones ... Priska – Co-Founder and Managing Director at TechFace, with a broad background in finance and tech Have you ever experienced a situation when you thought you are not good enough? Well, most of us probably have. Especially, women tend to not see the value they bring to their employer’s business. Others deal with imposter syndrome and tend to underestimate themselves which might limit them in achieving their goals. How do you react when you make a mistake? The guests exchange how they deal with mistakes and the feeling of being a failure. You will get a great toolbox of ideas how you can deal with situations where you feel not good enough. Do not miss our guests’ recommendations how to handle challenging situations. These inspiring women know their worth and strengths but also their weaknesses and areas of development. Most importantly, they talk about how to use this to your advantage. It is very likely, that the listeners will be able to take at least one new idea from our guests’ inputs.

Meet Taisha Fabricius, who is originally from Australia and now based in Switzerland for the last 10 years. She works as a 3D Technology Evangelist at Esri. Taisha is also a board member of Girls in Tech Switzerland since September 2020. Taisha has not a straightforward way into tech. Early during her undergrad degree, she realized that the so-called soft skills are one of her biggest strengths and that these were not compatible with the chosen degree. Thus, she had to pivot her career vision. Taisha stumbled upon a degree called Geomatic Engineering in the study book and was intrigued although she had no idea what it was.  She reminds us that the constant advancements of technology give us all a lot of possibilities. However, when building products, we must not forget who our users and end-customers are. Do not over-engineer the product just because you can. Listen to this episode to hear how Taisha is dealing with self-doubt and what you can learn from rejections or failures. You will also learn how to find the perfect role for you within your company and how she created her job as a 3D technology evangelist to fit to her strengths.

Meet Anna Thumann, who is currently studying Mechanical Engineering in her third year at ETH Zurich and building an electric aircraft. Concurrently, she is the president of LIMES – Ladies in Mechanical and Electrical Studies at ETH Zurich. The main goal of LIMES is to connect female students with industry partners and help them grow their peer network. Additionally, they are educating and motivating female high school students to study Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. At ETH Zurich students can participate in a focus project. E-Sling is the very first aviation project. Twelve students are building the first fully electric four-seat aircraft with a modular battery system in just 8 months. What fascinates Anna about this project is the sustainability idea in an aviation project. Concurrently, she gets the chance to work in a team trying to solve the many challenges arising on a weekly basis. If sustainability is one of your passions, you’ll agree with Anna’s vision of the future of tech. Listen to this episode to hear more about her vision. To conclude, we are sure that Anna will be an inspiring role model for girls following in her footsteps.

Meet Leïla Haegel, who is equal parts researcher and entrepreneur. Are you curious, how she combines her research about black holes with her ideas how to combine learning and AI? Leïla is a physicist and her research focuses on signals from gravitational radiation that are emitted by black holes. It is a rather new and very exciting field. During her PhD thesis she first got in touch with machine learning. And she recognised the huge potential of these tools.  On top of her academic work, she is part of the startup MAGMA Learning. Together with her Co-Founder she is investigating how AI technology can be used to make the process of learning more dynamical. Further, she talks about the importance to make the current AI tools fairer and more diverse. Last but not least you will hear the best advice she got so far in her life. Let me tell you, it is an advice Leïla readily applied to her work life.

Meet Tanja Koch, Zurich Ambassador for Women in 3D Printing, a global association to meet and exchange experiences about working in the 3D printing industry. Tanja works at 9T Labs, a startup from ETH Zurich that manufactures carbon composite 3D printers. Her job allows Tanja to combine her technical background with the business aspects of a startup company. She works closely with the sales and software department to tell compelling stories about their products. Because their customers are form very different industries and therefore having different needs. For example they have customers from industries such as MedTech, aerospace or luxury. Listen to this episode to hear Tanja’s take on the future of tech. She mentions diversity. Every year more young women enroll in technical studies. Tanja is convinced that in the future a more diverse workforce with different backgrounds will lead the progress in technology. Are you interested in Tanja's insights about the future of 3D printing? Then this episode is for you, free career advice included.

Meet Asra Nadeem, who has 15 years of experience in various tech start-ups predominantly in the early stages and venture capital investment in Silicon Valley. Do you want to know, why she got her first job? It was because she was able to speak good English. However, she has proven herself very useful and shortly afterwards she was hired full-time as a product manager. Asra has a non-traditional way into the technology world. She learned how to build products or code herself. Simultaneously, she worked with amazing people who supported her in discovering and learning new things on the job. Thus, her tip for the future, be open to learn new things and stay flexible. Something that guided her throughout her career, she never applied to a job the traditional way. Listen to this episode, to learn more about Asra’s beliefs and her tips how to get into the start-up world without previous work experience. When asked who her favourite role model is, she has an unusual but good answer. When additionally watching her TEDx Talk you will understand why we think so.

Meet Kim Dressendoerfer, who works as a Technical Specialist and Cognitive Solution Architect for AI and Data at IBM. In this function she gets to use her creativity to build new solutions for clients daily. Already as a young girl, Kim was curious about technology and computers. She learned by doing and tried to figure out how systems or games work. Do you know, what her first ever played game was? It is easy to get inspired just by listening to Kim talk about her job. She started her career at IBM with an internship and was part of a great team, where she could follow her interest in applying her creativity to find solutions for the problems at hand. This way of thinking helps her to identify common themes and seeing the bigger picture. Kim clearly found a job that aligns with her purpose. Thus, sit down, get yourself a cup of coffee or tea and listen to Kim’s tips how she got there, what drives her for the future, and why her favourite role model has the best quotes.

Meet Dorothea Baur, self-described independent ethics expert. Five years ago, she started her own consulting business Baur Consulting, where she advises companies in the financial industry about ethical questions. More recently, she has immersed herself into the field of artificial intelligence and ethics. In her daily work, she helps to define the necessary vocabulary to tackle the ethical questions at hand. Moreover, she raises awareness for our power over and responsibility for technology and shows where human judgment plays a role. In this podcast, Dorothea shares how her intrinsic motivation changed as she became her own boss. Her continuing inspiration are the intellectual challenges that she can work on a daily basis. Further, she shares her advice how to find your dream job aligning with your personal values.