A meeting was held at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) Research Park as part of the Women in Tech initiative, attended by Alfiya Kazi, Aliya Maussymbayeva, Bagdat Yagaliyeva and Marzhan Nurpeissova. They are currently undergoing internships in the fields of Data Science, artificial Intelligence and predictive analytics, conducting research aimed at applying advanced technologies in various fields.
A special guest of the event was Cara Bognar, the founder of a startup that connects student athletes with families for individual education of children. She talked about her journey from bioengineering and sports to technological entrepreneurship, sharing how engineering thinking and analytical skills became the basis for creating an innovative platform.
An important topic of discussion was the activities of Women in Entrepreneurship, a community that supports women in business and unites students from different disciplines. The conversation touched upon the issues of mentoring, innovation and business sustainability, as well as the integration of science and technology into the creation of successful startups.
The meeting was also attended by women from a wide range of fields involved in startup development, scientific research, technological innovation and entrepreneurship. The participants exchanged experiences, discussed the challenges faced by women in STEM fields, and ways to overcome them.
Alfiya Kazi, representing the Kazakhstan TechnoWomen community, spoke about its activities aimed at supporting women in science and technology, as well as how digitalization, artificial intelligence and analytics can become drivers of innovative development. She stressed that the interaction of science and technology plays a key role in creating competitive startups and forming an ecosystem for technological entrepreneurship.
This meeting was a significant step in strengthening international cooperation, sharing knowledge and expanding opportunities for women researchers and specialists in the field of advanced technologies.